diff --git a/crates/oracle/README.md b/crates/oracle/README.md
index c94e08063..2f0d77aea 100644
--- a/crates/oracle/README.md
+++ b/crates/oracle/README.md
@@ -80,6 +80,13 @@ transparent margin is not scored as black.
 
 `cargo xtask render-oracle` drives it over the corpus. It reports; it does not gate.
 
+A high score is a *disagreement*, not a verdict on us. The worst file of the first 250,
+`bug1552113.pdf` at 84%, is Poppler painting a link's `/Border [0 0 112]` as a band over the text
+the fixture exists to show; ours is the readable rendering. Look at both images before believing
+the number. `--hide-annotations` separates annotation differences from page content, though the
+default shows them: hiding is slightly worse overall, because it then scores Poppler for every
+appearance we do draw.
+
 ## Still to do
 
 - Acrobat itself as the reference, rather than other open renderers.
diff --git a/docs/gaps.md b/docs/gaps.md
index 94bd360e7..318270ee7 100644
--- a/docs/gaps.md
+++ b/docs/gaps.md
@@ -221,6 +221,18 @@ update the numbers.
   CI, and a first reading of a borrowed renderer is a baseline to improve on, not a bar to clear.
   The worst results cluster on JBIG2 `bitmap-*` files (`hayro-jbig2` carries 3 local patches) and
   on ZapfDingbats, which points the renderer work at something specific for the first time.
+- **Read the score as a disagreement, not a verdict (2026-10-14).** The worst file of the 250,
+  `bug1552113.pdf` at 84%, turned out to be Poppler's defect: it paints the link's `/Border [0 0
+  112]` as a 112-unit band over the two lines of text, and the fixture is named "this text should
+  be visible". Ours is the readable rendering. Anything at the top of the list needs a person to
+  look at both images before it is treated as a bug of ours.
+- **Annotations are shown, and that was measured rather than argued.** Poppler synthesises an
+  appearance for an annotation that has none, where we draw only what the document carries (link
+  borders without `/AP` are recorded as not covered under `view.render-annotation-appearances`), so
+  showing them scores us for a known gap. Hiding them is worse, because it then scores Poppler for
+  every appearance we *do* draw: over the same 250 files, shown gives mean 2.16% / p90 5.35% / 25
+  files within 0.1%, hidden gives 2.18% / 5.55% / 22, with `annotation-tx3.pdf` jumping to 45.64%.
+  The biases nearly cancel; `--hide-annotations` tells the two apart for one file at a time.
 - **Evidence:** text extraction (word-F1 0.98 against `pdftotext`) and now rendering (above); qpdf
   checks written output on every CI run since `PDFCRAFT_ORACLES_REQUIRED`. Acrobat captures must
   stay local in `plan/acrobat/` (clean-room, `AGENTS.md` §1.1).
diff --git a/xtask/src/gates.rs b/xtask/src/gates.rs
index fdc63ba80..02c965e13 100644
--- a/xtask/src/gates.rs
+++ b/xtask/src/gates.rs
@@ -253,6 +253,19 @@ pub fn render_oracle(args: &[String]) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     let limit: usize = flag_num(args, "--limit").unwrap_or(usize::MAX);
     let dpi: u32 = flag_num(args, "--dpi").unwrap_or(72);
     let tolerance: u8 = flag_num(args, "--tolerance").unwrap_or(8);
+    // Annotations are shown by default, which is not the obvious choice and was settled by
+    // measurement rather than argument. Poppler synthesises an appearance for an annotation that
+    // has none, where we draw only what the document carries (`view.render-annotation-appearances`
+    // records link borders without `/AP` as not covered), so showing them scores us for a known
+    // gap: bug1552113.pdf is 84% purely because Poppler paints a 112-unit link border over the
+    // text that fixture exists to show -- and our rendering, not Poppler's, is the readable one.
+    //
+    // Hiding them is worse, though, because it scores Poppler for every appearance we *do* draw.
+    // Over the same 250 files: shown gives mean 2.16%, p90 5.35%, 25 files within 0.1%; hidden
+    // gives 2.18%, 5.55% and 22, with annotation-tx3.pdf jumping to 45.64%. The two biases very
+    // nearly cancel, so the default stays with the fuller picture and this flag exists to tell
+    // the two apart when a single file's score needs explaining.
+    let hide_annotations = args.iter().any(|a| a == "--hide-annotations");
     let dir =
         args.iter().position(|a| a == "--dir").and_then(|i| args.get(i + 1)).map_or_else(|| root().join("corpus/pdfjs/test/pdfs"), PathBuf::from);
 
@@ -287,9 +300,13 @@ pub fn render_oracle(args: &[String]) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
             .filter(std::process::ExitStatus::success)
             .and_then(|_| std::fs::read(&out_pam).ok())
             .and_then(|b| pdfcraft_oracle::pixels::decode_pam_gray(&b));
-        let theirs =
-            run_capture_bytes(pdftoppm.command().args(["-singlefile", "-gray", "-f", "1", "-l", "1", "-r"]).arg(dpi.to_string()).arg(file), 30)
-                .and_then(|b| pdfcraft_oracle::pixels::decode_pgm(&b));
+        let mut theirs_cmd = pdftoppm.command();
+        theirs_cmd.args(["-singlefile", "-gray", "-f", "1", "-l", "1", "-r"]).arg(dpi.to_string());
+        if hide_annotations {
+            theirs_cmd.arg("-hide-annotations");
+        }
+        theirs_cmd.arg(file);
+        let theirs = run_capture_bytes(&mut theirs_cmd, 30).and_then(|b| pdfcraft_oracle::pixels::decode_pgm(&b));
         // An oracle that cannot read a file says nothing about our fidelity, and a file we cannot
         // read is `xtask check`'s business, not this one's. Count each side and move on.
         if ours.is_none() {
diff --git a/xtask/src/main.rs b/xtask/src/main.rs
index 2e91afe2a..f06c09944 100644
--- a/xtask/src/main.rs
+++ b/xtask/src/main.rs
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ const COMMANDS: &[(&str, &str, Command)] = &[
     ("text-oracle", "Compare text extraction with pdftotext over corpus/ (word F1; target median ≥ 0.97)", gates::text_oracle),
     (
         "render-oracle",
-        "Compare page rendering with Poppler over corpus/ (pixel disagreement rate; --dir, --dpi, --limit, --tolerance)",
+        "Compare page rendering with Poppler over corpus/ (pixel disagreement rate; --dir, --dpi, --limit, --tolerance, --hide-annotations)",
         gates::render_oracle,
     ),
     ("screenshots", "Regenerate the README screenshots in docs/images/ and their ATTRIBUTION entries", screenshots::run),