diff --git a/IPython/core/display.py b/IPython/core/display.py
index bbbacff..a65155f 100644
--- a/IPython/core/display.py
+++ b/IPython/core/display.py
@@ -655,7 +655,7 @@ class JSON(DisplayObject):
     @data.setter
     def data(self, data):
         if isinstance(data, str):
-            if getattr(self, 'filename') is None:
+            if getattr(self, 'filename', None) is None:
                 warnings.warn("JSON expects JSONable dict or list, not JSON strings")
             data = json.loads(data)
         self._data = data
@@ -690,7 +690,7 @@ class GeoJSON(JSON):
     @data.setter
     def data(self, data):
         if isinstance(data, str):
-            if getattr(self, 'filename') is None:
+            if getattr(self, 'filename', None) is None:
                 warnings.warn("GeoJSON expects JSONable dict or list, not JSON strings")
             data = json.loads(data)
         self._data = data