diff --git a/extensions/github-authentication/src/githubServer.ts b/extensions/github-authentication/src/githubServer.ts
index 2f263991de8..91503c3a12e 100644
--- a/extensions/github-authentication/src/githubServer.ts
+++ b/extensions/github-authentication/src/githubServer.ts
@@ -97,8 +97,18 @@ async function getUserInfo(token: string, serverUri: vscode.Uri, logger: Log): P
 		logger.info('Got account info!');
 		return { id: json.id, accountName: json.login };
 	} else {
-		logger.error(`Getting account info failed: ${result.statusText}`);
-		throw new Error(result.statusText);
+		// either display the response message or the http status text
+		let errorMessage = result.statusText;
+		try {
+			const json = await result.json();
+			if (json.message) {
+				errorMessage = json.message;
+			}
+		} catch (err) {
+			// noop
+		}
+		logger.error(`Getting account info failed: ${errorMessage}`);
+		throw new Error(errorMessage);
 	}
 }