diff --git a/IPython/core/display.py b/IPython/core/display.py
index 4d43552..9807e63 100644
--- a/IPython/core/display.py
+++ b/IPython/core/display.py
@@ -655,7 +655,8 @@ class JSON(DisplayObject):
     @data.setter
     def data(self, data):
         if isinstance(data, str):
-            warnings.warn("JSON expects JSONable dict or list, not JSON strings")
+            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
 
@@ -757,6 +758,8 @@ class GeoJSON(DisplayObject):
     @data.setter
     def data(self, data):
         if isinstance(data, str):
+            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