diff --git a/src/virtual-machine.js b/src/virtual-machine.js
index 0ce74559d..a4fa4b87f 100644
--- a/src/virtual-machine.js
+++ b/src/virtual-machine.js
@@ -182,9 +182,10 @@ class VirtualMachine extends EventEmitter {
      * @return {!Promise} Promise that resolves after targets are installed.
      */
     loadProject (input) {
-        if (typeof input === 'object' && !ArrayBuffer.isView(input)) {
-            // If the input is an object and not any ArrayBuffer view
-            // (this includes all typed arrays and DataViews)
+        if (typeof input === 'object' && !(input instanceof ArrayBuffer) &&
+          !ArrayBuffer.isView(input)) {
+            // If the input is an object and not any ArrayBuffer
+            // or an ArrayBuffer view (this includes all typed arrays and DataViews)
             // turn the object into a JSON string, because we suspect
             // this is a project.json as an object
             // validate expects a string or buffer as input