diff --git a/server/providers/news.js b/server/providers/news.js
index 0ad78665a..9184161a1 100644
--- a/server/providers/news.js
+++ b/server/providers/news.js
@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@ import { createKeyedNews } from './news/keyed.js';
 // is no plain origin, warned of once), Core answers the same routes itself
 // (news/keyed.js): Conflicts from GDELT's event exports with no key, and
 // Liveuamap's items beside them with LIVEUAMAP_API_KEY; Local from World
-// News API, "key required" while WORLDNEWSAPI_KEY is unset.
+// News API, "key required" while WORLDNEWSAPI_KEY is unset. A host that
+// serves news only from its own server mounts it with `builtIn: false`.
 
 const TIMEOUT_MS = 15_000;
 const MAX_BYTES = 4 * 1024 * 1024;
@@ -63,8 +64,10 @@ function configuredOrigin(env, log) {
 
 /**
  * A thin, validated GET proxy for the news layer's three read routes, or
- * their keyed answers without a news server.
- * @param {{env?: () => object, log?: (message: string) => void, origin?: () => string|null, fetchImpl?: typeof fetch, timeoutMs?: number, keyed?: {answer: (path: string, params: URLSearchParams) => Promise<{status: number, body: object}>}}} [options]
+ * their keyed answers without a news server. A host that serves news only
+ * from its own server passes `builtIn: false`: without GEV_NEWS_ORIGIN the
+ * routes then answer "not configured" and Core reads nothing itself.
+ * @param {{env?: () => object, log?: (message: string) => void, origin?: () => string|null, fetchImpl?: typeof fetch, timeoutMs?: number, builtIn?: boolean, keyed?: {answer: (path: string, params: URLSearchParams) => Promise<{status: number, body: object}>}|null}} [options]
  */
 export function newsProxy({
   env = () => process.env,
@@ -72,7 +75,8 @@ export function newsProxy({
   origin = configuredOrigin(env, log),
   fetchImpl = (...args) => globalThis.fetch(...args),
   timeoutMs = TIMEOUT_MS,
-  keyed = createKeyedNews({ env, fetchImpl, log }),
+  builtIn = true,
+  keyed = builtIn ? createKeyedNews({ env, fetchImpl, log }) : null,
 } = {}) {
   const json = (res, status, value) => {
     if (res.destroyed) return;
@@ -96,6 +100,12 @@ export function newsProxy({
       return json(res, 400, { error: 'invalid_news_request' });
     const base = origin();
     if (!base) {
+      if (!keyed)
+        return json(res, 503, {
+          error: 'news_not_configured',
+          unavailable: true,
+          retryable: false,
+        });
       try {
         const { status, body } = await keyed.answer(
           local.pathname,
diff --git a/server/providers/news.test.mjs b/server/providers/news.test.mjs
index 07c1f0fd1..bef3512c5 100644
--- a/server/providers/news.test.mjs
+++ b/server/providers/news.test.mjs
@@ -192,3 +192,29 @@ test('a built-in answer that throws is a 502, logged in one line without address
   assert.match(logs[0], /TypeError/);
   assert.doesNotMatch(logs[0], /key=abc|\n/);
 });
+
+test('a host that serves news only from its own server turns the built-in backend off', async () => {
+  let fetches = 0;
+  const call = mount({
+    origin: () => null,
+    builtIn: false,
+    fetchImpl: async () => {
+      fetches++;
+      throw new Error('unexpected');
+    },
+  });
+  for (const url of [
+    '/hotspots',
+    '/feed?hotspot=all',
+    '/outline?at=51.13,71.43&v=4',
+  ]) {
+    const answer = await call(url);
+    assert.equal(answer.status, 503, url);
+    assert.deepEqual(answer.json, {
+      error: 'news_not_configured',
+      unavailable: true,
+      retryable: false,
+    });
+  }
+  assert.equal(fetches, 0);
+});