diff --git a/reply.py b/reply.py
index 0a6d784..7ad94b6 100755
--- a/reply.py
+++ b/reply.py
@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@ class ReplyBot:
 	def extract_toot(toot, cfg):
 		text = utils.extract_post_content(toot)
 		text = re.sub(r"^@\S+\s", r"", text)  # remove the initial mention
+		toot = toot.replace("@", "@\u200b")  # sanitize mentions
 		text = utils.remove_mentions(cfg, text)
 		text = text.lower()  # treat text as lowercase for easier keyword matching (if this bot uses it)
 		return text