Org-mode: blocks incorrectly parsed as org-mode markup

Question

I noticed a really weird behavior related to #+begin_xxx/#+end_xxx block. It turns out that contents inside those blocks are parsed as org-mode markup. That is, inside a block:

• * at the beginning of a line is considered as a heading. A direct impact is that org-global-cycle fold/unfold incorrectly sectioning.
• [[not a link]] is considered as an org-mode link. Export to pdf (org-latex-export-to-pdf) the org file will raise the error Unable to resolve link: "not a link" as it would fail to resolve unexisting links.
• and probably more...

MWE

emacs-version = 26.3

org-version = 9.2.6

* H1
** H2
#+begin_example
* Should not be rendered as a heading!
[[Should be avoided when exporting]]
#+end_example

#+begin_src c
* sp  = "Should not be rendered as a heading!"
// [[Should be avoided when exporting]]
#+end_src

Issue: org-cycle (Tab)

Issue: org-global-cycle (Shift+Tab)

Issue: org-export-latex-to-pdf

Related question

• Emacs org-mode source block incorrectly parsed as a link in export (unable to resolve link)

Answer 1

You must escape such constructs in example blocks. The Literal Examples section of the manual states:

There is one limitation, however. You must insert a comma right before lines starting with either ‘*’, ‘,*’, ‘#+’ or ‘,#+’, as those may be interpreted as outlines nodes or some other special syntax. Org transparently strips these additional commas whenever it accesses the contents of the block.

#+BEGIN_EXAMPLE
,* I am no real headline
#+END_EXAMPLE

And it turns out that escaping the "fake" headline also solves the link export problem. Try exporting this:

* H1
** H2
#+begin_example
,* Should not be rendered as a heading!
[[Should be avoided when exporting]]
#+end_example

#+begin_src c
,* sp  = "Should not be rendered as a heading!"
// [[Should be avoided when exporting]]
#+end_src