diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 23995221..13075cf7 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@ FROM ruby:2.6-slim as ruby-deps
 ARG RUNTIME_DEPS
 ARG BUILD_DEPS
 
+# set to always UTF8
+ENV LANG=C.UTF-8
+
 # Install build deps
 RUN apt-get update && \
     apt-get install --no-install-recommends -y $RUNTIME_DEPS $BUILD_DEPS && \
diff --git a/lib/github_markup_check_and_render b/lib/github_markup_check_and_render
index 4249bd91..cc7d3ac9 100755
--- a/lib/github_markup_check_and_render
+++ b/lib/github_markup_check_and_render
@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env ruby
+# encoding: UTF-8
 # Modified github_markup utility which checks first that the file can be rendered before rendering
 
 $LOAD_PATH.unshift File.dirname(File.realpath(__FILE__)) + "/../lib"
 require 'github/markup'
+require 'charlock_holmes'
 
 if ARGV.size < 1
   print "usage: #{File.basename($0)} FILE\n"
@@ -14,8 +16,10 @@ file_contents = nil
 
 begin
   file = File.open( name, "r" )
-  file_contents = file.read
+  encoded_contents = file.read
   file.close
+  detection = CharlockHolmes::EncodingDetector.detect(encoded_contents)
+  file_contents = encoded_contents.encode("UTF-8", detection[:encoding], invalid: :replace, replace: "")
 rescue Exception => e
   $stderr.print "error: #{e.message}\n"
   exit 1
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 55513b5c..f5afb1c3 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -2145,9 +2145,9 @@
       }
     },
     "@eslint/eslintrc": {
-      "version": "0.2.1",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@eslint/eslintrc/-/eslintrc-0.2.1.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-XRUeBZ5zBWLYgSANMpThFddrZZkEbGHgUdt5UJjZfnlN9BGCiUBrf+nvbRupSjMvqzwnQN0qwCmOxITt1cfywA==",
+      "version": "0.2.2",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@eslint/eslintrc/-/eslintrc-0.2.2.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-EfB5OHNYp1F4px/LI/FEnGylop7nOqkQ1LRzCM0KccA2U8tvV8w01KBv37LbO7nW4H+YhKyo2LcJhRwjjV17QQ==",
       "dev": true,
       "requires": {
         "ajv": "^6.12.4",
@@ -2752,9 +2752,9 @@
       }
     },
     "@types/babel__traverse": {
-      "version": "7.0.16",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@types/babel__traverse/-/babel__traverse-7.0.16.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-S63Dt4CZOkuTmpLGGWtT/mQdVORJOpx6SZWGVaP56dda/0Nx5nEe82K7/LAm8zYr6SfMq+1N2OreIOrHAx656w==",
+      "version": "7.11.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@types/babel__traverse/-/babel__traverse-7.11.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-kSjgDMZONiIfSH1Nxcr5JIRMwUetDki63FSQfpTCz8ogF3Ulqm8+mr5f78dUYs6vMiB6gBusQqfQmBvHZj/lwg==",
       "requires": {
         "@babel/types": "^7.3.0"
       }
@@ -3656,7 +3656,7 @@
       }
     },
     "broken-link-checker": {
-      "version": "github:prototypicalpro/broken-link-checker#9cdd806d578ef0aae1c5ab9d927fac14ea1e1bb0",
+      "version": "github:prototypicalpro/broken-link-checker#7032781fe8768da4943f8757de6825cab83432c4",
       "from": "github:prototypicalpro/broken-link-checker#master",
       "requires": {
         "auto-tunnel": "github:stevenvachon/auto-tunnel",
@@ -4983,9 +4983,9 @@
       "integrity": "sha1-Z29us8OZl8LuGsOpJP1hJHSPV40="
     },
     "core-js": {
-      "version": "3.8.0",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/core-js/-/core-js-3.8.0.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-W2VYNB0nwQQE7tKS7HzXd7r2y/y2SVJl4ga6oH/dnaLFzM0o2lB2P3zCkWj5Wc/zyMYjtgd5Hmhk0ObkQFZOIA=="
+      "version": "3.8.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/core-js/-/core-js-3.8.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-9Id2xHY1W7m8hCl8NkhQn5CufmF/WuR30BTRewvCXc1aZd3kMECwNZ69ndLbekKfakw9Rf2Xyc+QR6E7Gg+obg=="
     },
     "core-js-compat": {
       "version": "3.8.0",
@@ -5957,13 +5957,13 @@
       }
     },
     "eslint": {
-      "version": "7.14.0",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/eslint/-/eslint-7.14.0.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-5YubdnPXrlrYAFCKybPuHIAH++PINe1pmKNc5wQRB9HSbqIK1ywAnntE3Wwua4giKu0bjligf1gLF6qxMGOYRA==",
+      "version": "7.15.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/eslint/-/eslint-7.15.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-Vr64xFDT8w30wFll643e7cGrIkPEU50yIiI36OdSIDoSGguIeaLzBo0vpGvzo9RECUqq7htURfwEtKqwytkqzA==",
       "dev": true,
       "requires": {
         "@babel/code-frame": "^7.0.0",
-        "@eslint/eslintrc": "^0.2.1",
+        "@eslint/eslintrc": "^0.2.2",
         "ajv": "^6.10.0",
         "chalk": "^4.0.0",
         "cross-spawn": "^7.0.2",
@@ -5973,10 +5973,10 @@
         "eslint-scope": "^5.1.1",
         "eslint-utils": "^2.1.0",
         "eslint-visitor-keys": "^2.0.0",
-        "espree": "^7.3.0",
+        "espree": "^7.3.1",
         "esquery": "^1.2.0",
         "esutils": "^2.0.2",
-        "file-entry-cache": "^5.0.1",
+        "file-entry-cache": "^6.0.0",
         "functional-red-black-tree": "^1.0.1",
         "glob-parent": "^5.0.0",
         "globals": "^12.1.0",
@@ -6361,13 +6361,13 @@
       "dev": true
     },
     "espree": {
-      "version": "7.3.0",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/espree/-/espree-7.3.0.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-dksIWsvKCixn1yrEXO8UosNSxaDoSYpq9reEjZSbHLpT5hpaCAKTLBwq0RHtLrIr+c0ByiYzWT8KTMRzoRCNlw==",
+      "version": "7.3.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/espree/-/espree-7.3.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-v3JCNCE64umkFpmkFGqzVKsOT0tN1Zr+ueqLZfpV1Ob8e+CEgPWa+OxCoGH3tnhimMKIaBm4m/vaRpJ/krRz2g==",
       "dev": true,
       "requires": {
         "acorn": "^7.4.0",
-        "acorn-jsx": "^5.2.0",
+        "acorn-jsx": "^5.3.1",
         "eslint-visitor-keys": "^1.3.0"
       },
       "dependencies": {
@@ -6730,12 +6730,12 @@
       }
     },
     "file-entry-cache": {
-      "version": "5.0.1",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/file-entry-cache/-/file-entry-cache-5.0.1.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-bCg29ictuBaKUwwArK4ouCaqDgLZcysCFLmM/Yn/FDoqndh/9vNuQfXRDvTuXKLxfD/JtZQGKFT8MGcJBK644g==",
+      "version": "6.0.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/file-entry-cache/-/file-entry-cache-6.0.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-fqoO76jZ3ZnYrXLDRxBR1YvOvc0k844kcOg40bgsPrE25LAb/PDqTY+ho64Xh2c8ZXgIKldchCFHczG2UVRcWA==",
       "dev": true,
       "requires": {
-        "flat-cache": "^2.0.1"
+        "flat-cache": "^3.0.4"
       }
     },
     "file-uri-to-path": {
@@ -6849,31 +6849,19 @@
       "dev": true
     },
     "flat-cache": {
-      "version": "2.0.1",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/flat-cache/-/flat-cache-2.0.1.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-LoQe6yDuUMDzQAEH8sgmh4Md6oZnc/7PjtwjNFSzveXqSHt6ka9fPBuso7IGf9Rz4uqnSnWiFH2B/zj24a5ReA==",
+      "version": "3.0.4",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/flat-cache/-/flat-cache-3.0.4.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-dm9s5Pw7Jc0GvMYbshN6zchCA9RgQlzzEZX3vylR9IqFfS8XciblUXOKfW6SiuJ0e13eDYZoZV5wdrev7P3Nwg==",
       "dev": true,
       "requires": {
-        "flatted": "^2.0.0",
-        "rimraf": "2.6.3",
-        "write": "1.0.3"
-      },
-      "dependencies": {
-        "rimraf": {
-          "version": "2.6.3",
-          "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/rimraf/-/rimraf-2.6.3.tgz",
-          "integrity": "sha512-mwqeW5XsA2qAejG46gYdENaxXjx9onRNCfn7L0duuP4hCuTIi/QO7PDK07KJfp1d+izWPrzEJDcSqBa0OZQriA==",
-          "dev": true,
-          "requires": {
-            "glob": "^7.1.3"
-          }
-        }
+        "flatted": "^3.1.0",
+        "rimraf": "^3.0.2"
       }
     },
     "flatted": {
-      "version": "2.0.2",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/flatted/-/flatted-2.0.2.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-r5wGx7YeOwNWNlCA0wQ86zKyDLMQr+/RB8xy74M4hTphfmjlijTSSXGuH8rnvKZnfT9i+75zmd8jcKdMR4O6jA==",
+      "version": "3.1.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/flatted/-/flatted-3.1.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-tW+UkmtNg/jv9CSofAKvgVcO7c2URjhTdW1ZTkcAritblu8tajiYy7YisnIflEwtKssCtOxpnBRoCB7iap0/TA==",
       "dev": true
     },
     "flush-write-stream": {
@@ -7981,9 +7969,9 @@
       }
     },
     "humanize-duration": {
-      "version": "3.24.0",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/humanize-duration/-/humanize-duration-3.24.0.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-B3udnqisaDeRsvUSb+5n2hjxhABI9jotB+i1IEhgHhguTeM5LxIUKoVIu7UpeyaPOygr/Fnv7UhOi45kYYG+tg=="
+      "version": "3.25.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/humanize-duration/-/humanize-duration-3.25.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-QXth17C/8J2QVO0urby5sANmgvwdOF4YZW3mO13ZTkJli4ltVphzMJVG+HkVuTN/bIq1W/O0jRYSyQACus/GVQ=="
     },
     "humanize-url": {
       "version": "1.0.1",
@@ -9788,9 +9776,9 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-RdJUflcE3cUzKiMqQgsCu06FPu9UdIJO0beYbPhHN4k6apgJtifcoCtT9bcxOpYBtpD2kCM6Sbzg4CausW/PKQ=="
     },
     "js-yaml": {
-      "version": "3.14.0",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/js-yaml/-/js-yaml-3.14.0.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-/4IbIeHcD9VMHFqDR/gQ7EdZdLimOvW2DdcxFjdyyZ9NsbS+ccrXqVWDtab/lRl5AlUqmpBx8EhPaWR+OtY17A==",
+      "version": "3.14.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/js-yaml/-/js-yaml-3.14.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-okMH7OXXJ7YrN9Ok3/SXrnu4iX9yOk+25nqX4imS2npuvTYDmo/QEZoqwZkYaIDk3jVvBOTOIEgEhaLOynBS9g==",
       "requires": {
         "argparse": "^1.0.7",
         "esprima": "^4.0.0"
@@ -10843,6 +10831,16 @@
           "integrity": "sha1-o7MKXE8ZkYMWeqq5O+764937ZU8=",
           "dev": true
         },
+        "js-yaml": {
+          "version": "3.14.0",
+          "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/js-yaml/-/js-yaml-3.14.0.tgz",
+          "integrity": "sha512-/4IbIeHcD9VMHFqDR/gQ7EdZdLimOvW2DdcxFjdyyZ9NsbS+ccrXqVWDtab/lRl5AlUqmpBx8EhPaWR+OtY17A==",
+          "dev": true,
+          "requires": {
+            "argparse": "^1.0.7",
+            "esprima": "^4.0.0"
+          }
+        },
         "locate-path": {
           "version": "6.0.0",
           "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/locate-path/-/locate-path-6.0.0.tgz",
@@ -13250,9 +13248,9 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-VUJ49FC8U1OxwZLxIbTTrDvLnf/6TDgxZcK8wxR8zs13xpx7xbG60ndBlhNrFi2EMuFRoeDoJO7wthSLq42EjA=="
     },
     "simple-git": {
-      "version": "2.24.0",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/simple-git/-/simple-git-2.24.0.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-nF31Xai5lTYgRCiSJ1lHzK0Vk9jWOvAFW12bdBaWy2bhodio04eOWYurvyM/nTBYsPIiQl3PFvdod5TRcPvzww==",
+      "version": "2.25.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/simple-git/-/simple-git-2.25.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-RMBFWKiPDl3rAoFbEaCVsjQ0v6sgR0q7cyUF9e/4lR81Mf2/5xwop0aCQatUDXKMIXnkuOG6aTEadQmGtOw4mg==",
       "requires": {
         "@kwsites/file-exists": "^1.1.1",
         "@kwsites/promise-deferred": "^1.1.1",
@@ -15245,15 +15243,6 @@
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/wrappy/-/wrappy-1.0.2.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha1-tSQ9jz7BqjXxNkYFvA0QNuMKtp8="
     },
-    "write": {
-      "version": "1.0.3",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/write/-/write-1.0.3.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-/lg70HAjtkUgWPVZhZcm+T4hkL8Zbtp1nFNOn3lRrxnlv50SRBv7cR7RqR+GMsd3hUXy9hWBo4CHTbFTcOYwig==",
-      "dev": true,
-      "requires": {
-        "mkdirp": "^0.5.1"
-      }
-    },
     "write-file-atomic": {
       "version": "3.0.3",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/write-file-atomic/-/write-file-atomic-3.0.3.tgz",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index f68bb268..e84aff58 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@
     "gitlog": "^4.0.3",
     "is-windows": "^1.0.2",
     "isbinaryfile": "^4.0.6",
-    "js-yaml": "^3.14.0",
+    "js-yaml": "^3.14.1",
     "jsonfile": "^6.1.0",
     "lodash": "^4.17.20",
     "log-symbols": "^4.0.0",
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@
     "nock": "^13.0.5",
     "node-fetch": "^2.6.0",
     "rimraf": "^3.0.2",
-    "simple-git": "^2.24.0",
+    "simple-git": "^2.25.0",
     "standardjs": "^1.0.0-alpha",
     "yargs": "^15.4.1"
   },
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@
     "chai-each": "0.0.1",
     "chai-string": "^1.5.0",
     "documentation": "^13.1.0",
-    "eslint": "^7.14.0",
+    "eslint": "^7.15.0",
     "eslint-config-prettier": "^6.15.0",
     "eslint-config-prettier-standard": "^3.0.1",
     "eslint-config-standard": "^14.1.1",
diff --git a/rules/file-no-broken-links.js b/rules/file-no-broken-links.js
index b4a42bd4..9dbe5eb6 100644
--- a/rules/file-no-broken-links.js
+++ b/rules/file-no-broken-links.js
@@ -77,12 +77,10 @@ async function fileNoBrokenLinks(fs, options) {
       )
       // make the messages for the failing URLs
       const failingMessages = failing.map(
-        ({ brokenReason, originalURL, http }) =>
+        ({ brokenReason, originalURL, httpResponse }) =>
           `${originalURL} (${
             brokenReason.includes('HTTP')
-              ? `status code ${
-                  http && http.response && http.response.statusCode
-                }`
+              ? `status code ${httpResponse && httpResponse.status}`
               : `unknown error ${brokenReason}`
           })`
       )
@@ -130,13 +128,13 @@ async function fileNoBrokenLinks(fs, options) {
         message:
           allMessages.length === 0
             ? 'All links are valid'
-            : allMessages.concat(', ')
+            : allMessages.join(', ')
       }
     })
   )
   // return the final result
   const passed = results.every(({ passed }) => passed)
-  return new Result('', results, passed)
+  return new Result(passed ? '' : 'Found broken links', results, passed)
 }
 
 module.exports = fileNoBrokenLinks