diff --git a/components/x-gift-article/src/SharingOptionsToggler.jsx b/components/x-gift-article/src/SharingOptionsToggler.jsx
index 8d3090f5f..f47c78a71 100644
--- a/components/x-gift-article/src/SharingOptionsToggler.jsx
+++ b/components/x-gift-article/src/SharingOptionsToggler.jsx
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ export const SharingOptionsToggler = (props) => {
 				actions.showAdvancedSharingOptions()
 			} else {
 				actions.hideNonSubscriberSharingOptions(event)
-				actions.setIncludeHighlights(event.target.checked)
 			}
 			return
 		}
diff --git a/components/x-gift-article/src/lib/highlightsApi.js b/components/x-gift-article/src/lib/highlightsApi.js
index b4a75e29e..cbe509909 100644
--- a/components/x-gift-article/src/lib/highlightsApi.js
+++ b/components/x-gift-article/src/lib/highlightsApi.js
@@ -38,6 +38,11 @@ export default class HighlightsApiClient {
 		)
 
 		const response = await fetch(url, options)
+
+		if (!response.ok) {
+			throw new Error(`failed to fetch ${url}, received ${response.status}`)
+		}
+
 		const responseJSON = await response.json()
 		return responseJSON
 	}
@@ -62,6 +67,7 @@ export default class HighlightsApiClient {
 			if (!includeHighlights) {
 				return {}
 			}
+
 			return await this.fetchJson('/create-token', {
 				method: 'POST',
 				body: JSON.stringify({ articleId })