diff --git a/web/src/message_list.js b/web/src/message_list.js
index 2f5fd55b8e..25f6a3b63e 100644
--- a/web/src/message_list.js
+++ b/web/src/message_list.js
@@ -82,6 +82,10 @@ export class MessageList {
         return this;
     }
 
+    is_current_message_list() {
+        return this.view.is_current_message_list();
+    }
+
     prevent_reading() {
         this.reading_prevented = true;
     }
@@ -117,14 +121,14 @@ export class MessageList {
             render_info = this.append_to_view(bottom_messages, opts);
         }
 
-        if (!this.visibly_empty()) {
+        if (!this.visibly_empty() && this.is_current_message_list()) {
             // If adding some new messages to the message tables caused
             // our current narrow to no longer be empty, hide the empty
             // feed placeholder text.
             narrow_banner.hide_empty_narrow_message();
         }
 
-        if (!this.visibly_empty() && this.selected_id() === -1) {
+        if (!this.visibly_empty() && this.selected_id() === -1 && this.is_current_message_list()) {
             // The message list was previously empty, but now isn't
             // due to adding these messages, and we need to select a
             // message. Regardless of whether the messages are new or
diff --git a/web/src/message_list_view.js b/web/src/message_list_view.js
index 0f026534bb..591405c8c6 100644
--- a/web/src/message_list_view.js
+++ b/web/src/message_list_view.js
@@ -380,6 +380,10 @@ export class MessageListView {
         message_container.modified = true;
     }
 
+    is_current_message_list() {
+        return this.list === message_lists.current;
+    }
+
     set_calculated_message_container_variables(message_container, is_revealed) {
         set_timestr(message_container);
 
diff --git a/web/tests/compose_closed_ui.test.js b/web/tests/compose_closed_ui.test.js
index e43a8b97ce..bd94801879 100644
--- a/web/tests/compose_closed_ui.test.js
+++ b/web/tests/compose_closed_ui.test.js
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ function MessageListView() {
         maybe_rerender: noop,
         append: noop,
         prepend: noop,
+        is_current_message_list: () => true,
     };
 }
 mock_esm("../src/message_list_view", {
diff --git a/web/tests/message_list.test.js b/web/tests/message_list.test.js
index df7d26592e..6b754001bc 100644
--- a/web/tests/message_list.test.js
+++ b/web/tests/message_list.test.js
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ function MessageListView() {
         append: noop,
         prepend: noop,
         clear_rendering_state: noop,
+        is_current_message_list: () => true,
     };
 }
 mock_esm("../src/message_list_view", {