diff --git a/src/client/NewsMarkdown.ts b/src/client/NewsMarkdown.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..88dcbf0ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/client/NewsMarkdown.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+const GITHUB_PR_URL_REGEX =
+  /(?<!\()\bhttps:\/\/github\.com\/openfrontio\/OpenFrontIO\/pull\/(\d+)\b/g;
+const GITHUB_COMPARE_URL_REGEX =
+  /(?<!\()\bhttps:\/\/github\.com\/openfrontio\/OpenFrontIO\/compare\/([\w.-]+)\b/g;
+const GITHUB_MENTION_REGEX =
+  /(^|[^\w/[`])@([a-z\d](?:[a-z\d-]{0,37}[a-z\d])?)(?![\w-])/gim;
+
+export function normalizeNewsMarkdown(markdown: string): string {
+  return (
+    markdown
+      // Convert bold header lines (e.g. "**Title**") into real Markdown headers.
+      // Exclude lines starting with - or * to avoid converting bullet points.
+      .replace(/^([^\-*\s].*?) \*\*(.+?)\*\*$/gm, "## $1 $2")
+      .replace(
+        GITHUB_PR_URL_REGEX,
+        (_match, prNumber) =>
+          `[#${prNumber}](https://github.com/openfrontio/OpenFrontIO/pull/${prNumber})`,
+      )
+      .replace(
+        GITHUB_COMPARE_URL_REGEX,
+        (_match, comparison) =>
+          `[${comparison}](https://github.com/openfrontio/OpenFrontIO/compare/${comparison})`,
+      )
+      .replace(
+        GITHUB_MENTION_REGEX,
+        (_match, prefix, username) =>
+          `${prefix}[@${username}](https://github.com/${username})`,
+      )
+  );
+}
diff --git a/src/client/NewsModal.ts b/src/client/NewsModal.ts
index fe0d622f3..dc34a06bd 100644
--- a/src/client/NewsModal.ts
+++ b/src/client/NewsModal.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import { translateText } from "../client/Utils";
 import "./components/baseComponents/Modal";
 import { BaseModal } from "./components/BaseModal";
 import { modalHeader } from "./components/ui/ModalHeader";
+import { normalizeNewsMarkdown } from "./NewsMarkdown";
 import changelog from "/changelog.md?url";
 import megaphone from "/images/Megaphone.svg?url";
 
@@ -67,23 +68,9 @@ export class NewsModal extends BaseModal {
       this.initialized = true;
       fetch(`${changelog}?v=${encodeURIComponent(version.trim())}`)
         .then((response) => (response.ok ? response.text() : "Failed to load"))
-        .then((markdown) =>
-          markdown
-            // Convert bold header lines (e.g. "**Title**") into real Markdown headers
-            // Exclude lines starting with - or * to avoid converting bullet points
-            .replace(/^([^\-*\s].*?) \*\*(.+?)\*\*$/gm, "## $1 $2")
-            .replace(
-              /(?<!\()\bhttps:\/\/github\.com\/openfrontio\/OpenFrontIO\/pull\/(\d+)\b/g,
-              (_match, prNumber) =>
-                `[#${prNumber}](https://github.com/openfrontio/OpenFrontIO/pull/${prNumber})`,
-            )
-            .replace(
-              /(?<!\()\bhttps:\/\/github\.com\/openfrontio\/OpenFrontIO\/compare\/([\w.-]+)\b/g,
-              (_match, comparison) =>
-                `[${comparison}](https://github.com/openfrontio/OpenFrontIO/compare/${comparison})`,
-            ),
-        )
-        .then((markdown) => (this.markdown = markdown));
+        .then((markdown) => normalizeNewsMarkdown(markdown))
+        .then((markdown) => (this.markdown = markdown))
+        .catch(() => (this.markdown = "Failed to load"));
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/tests/client/NewsMarkdown.test.ts b/tests/client/NewsMarkdown.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..94f83332b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/client/NewsMarkdown.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+import { normalizeNewsMarkdown } from "../../src/client/NewsMarkdown";
+
+describe("normalizeNewsMarkdown", () => {
+  it("converts openfront pull request URLs to short markdown links", () => {
+    const input =
+      "Fix attack logic in https://github.com/openfrontio/OpenFrontIO/pull/1234";
+
+    const result = normalizeNewsMarkdown(input);
+
+    expect(result).toContain(
+      "[#1234](https://github.com/openfrontio/OpenFrontIO/pull/1234)",
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("converts openfront compare URLs to markdown links", () => {
+    const input =
+      "Full Changelog: https://github.com/openfrontio/OpenFrontIO/compare/v1.0.0...v1.1.0";
+
+    const result = normalizeNewsMarkdown(input);
+
+    expect(result).toContain(
+      "[v1.0.0...v1.1.0](https://github.com/openfrontio/OpenFrontIO/compare/v1.0.0...v1.1.0)",
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("converts github @mentions to profile links", () => {
+    const input = "- Feature by @evanpelle in release notes";
+
+    const result = normalizeNewsMarkdown(input);
+
+    expect(result).toContain("[@evanpelle](https://github.com/evanpelle)");
+  });
+
+  it("does not convert existing markdown-linked mentions", () => {
+    const input = "Credit [@evanpelle](https://github.com/evanpelle)";
+
+    const result = normalizeNewsMarkdown(input);
+
+    expect(result).toBe(input);
+  });
+
+  it("does not convert email addresses", () => {
+    const input = "Contact support@openfront.io for help";
+
+    const result = normalizeNewsMarkdown(input);
+
+    expect(result).toBe(input);
+  });
+});