diff --git a/foodie_engagement_tweet.py b/foodie_engagement_tweet.py
index 4541b47..b0c4e18 100644
--- a/foodie_engagement_tweet.py
+++ b/foodie_engagement_tweet.py
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import sys
 import fcntl
 import os
 import time
+import re
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
 import tweepy
 from openai import OpenAI
@@ -56,7 +57,7 @@ def setup_logging():
         
         logging.basicConfig(
             filename=LOG_FILE,
-            level=logging.DEBUG,  # Changed to DEBUG to show more details
+            level=logging.DEBUG,
             format='%(asctime)s - %(levelname)s - %(message)s',
             datefmt='%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S'
         )
@@ -149,6 +150,27 @@ def validate_twitter_credentials(author):
                 return False
     return False
 
+def remove_emojis(text):
+    """Remove emojis from the given text."""
+    # Unicode ranges for emojis
+    emoji_pattern = re.compile(
+        "["
+        "\U0001F600-\U0001F64F"  # Emoticons
+        "\U0001F300-\U0001F5FF"  # Symbols & Pictographs
+        "\U0001F680-\U0001F6FF"  # Transport & Map Symbols
+        "\U0001F700-\U0001F77F"  # Alchemical Symbols
+        "\U0001F780-\U0001F7FF"  # Geometric Shapes Extended
+        "\U0001F800-\U0001F8FF"  # Supplemental Arrows-C
+        "\U0001F900-\U0001F9FF"  # Supplemental Symbols and Pictographs
+        "\U0001FA00-\U0001FA6F"  # Chess Symbols
+        "\U0001FA70-\U0001FAFF"  # Symbols and Pictographs Extended-A
+        "\U00002700-\U000027BF"  # Dingbats
+        "\U00002600-\U000026FF"  # Miscellaneous Symbols
+        "]+",
+        flags=re.UNICODE
+    )
+    return emoji_pattern.sub(r"", text)
+
 def get_reference_date():
     """Load or initialize the reference date for the 2-day interval."""
     os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(REFERENCE_DATE_FILE), exist_ok=True)
@@ -185,12 +207,28 @@ def generate_engagement_tweet(author):
     
     # Case-insensitive lookup for background with whitespace stripping
     username_cleaned = username.strip().lower()
-    background = next(
-        (bg for bg in AUTHOR_BACKGROUNDS if bg["username"].strip().lower() == username_cleaned),
-        {}
-    )
+    background = {}
+    available_usernames = []
+    for bg in AUTHOR_BACKGROUNDS:
+        bg_username = bg.get("username")
+        if bg_username is None:
+            logging.warning(f"Skipping background entry with missing username: {bg}")
+            continue
+        if not isinstance(bg_username, str):
+            logging.warning(f"Skipping background entry with non-string username: {bg_username} (type: {type(bg_username)})")
+            continue
+        bg_username_cleaned = bg_username.strip().lower()
+        available_usernames.append(bg_username)
+        logging.debug(
+            f"Comparing usernames for {username}: "
+            f"author username (cleaned) = '{username_cleaned}', "
+            f"background username (cleaned) = '{bg_username_cleaned}'"
+        )
+        if bg_username_cleaned == username_cleaned:
+            background = bg
+            break
+    
     if not background or "engagement_themes" not in background:
-        available_usernames = [bg["username"] for bg in AUTHOR_BACKGROUNDS]
         logging.warning(
             f"No background or engagement themes found for {username}. "
             f"Attempted username (cleaned): {username_cleaned}. "
@@ -211,8 +249,7 @@ def generate_engagement_tweet(author):
         f"Keep it under 230 characters to ensure room for the URL. "
         f"Use {persona_config['tone']}. "
         f"Include a call to action to follow {author_handle} or like the tweet, followed by the URL {URL} (do not mention InsiderFoodie.com separately in the text). "
-        f"Avoid using the word 'elevate'—use more humanized language like 'level up' or 'bring to life'. "
-        f"Do not include emojis, hashtags, or reward-driven incentives (e.g., giveaways). "
+        f"Strictly avoid using any emojis, hashtags, or reward-driven incentives (e.g., giveaways)—do not include them under any circumstances. "
         f"Return only the tweet text."
     )
     
@@ -228,6 +265,8 @@ def generate_engagement_tweet(author):
                 temperature=0.7
             )
             tweet = response.choices[0].message.content.strip()
+            # Remove emojis as a safeguard
+            tweet = remove_emojis(tweet)
             # Check for duplicate URLs and remove if present
             url_count = tweet.lower().count(URL.lower())
             if url_count > 1:
@@ -266,6 +305,8 @@ def generate_engagement_tweet(author):
                 if total_length > 280:
                     tweet_without_url = tweet_without_url[:(280 - URL_SHORTENED_LENGTH - 3)]
                     fallback = tweet_without_url + "..." + " " + URL
+                # Remove emojis from fallback as well
+                fallback = remove_emojis(fallback)
                 logging.info(f"Using fallback engagement tweet: {fallback}")
                 return fallback
     return None