diff --git a/code/scraper.py b/code/scraper.py
index e77404b..ce1d2d5 100644
--- a/code/scraper.py
+++ b/code/scraper.py
@@ -80,6 +80,7 @@ def scrape(topic, limit=100, headless=True):
     except Exception as e:
         print('error when extracting tweets')
         print(e)
+        return [], [], []
     finally:
         # close driver
         driver.close()