diff --git a/bookwyrm/broadcast.py b/bookwyrm/broadcast.py
index ee43f8185..301fe84f9 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/broadcast.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/broadcast.py
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ def broadcast_task(sender_id, activity, recipients):
         except requests.exceptions.HTTPError as e:
             # TODO: maybe keep track of users who cause errors
             errors.append({
-                'error': e,
+                'error': str(e),
                 'recipient': recipient,
                 'activity': activity,
             })
diff --git a/bookwyrm/signatures.py b/bookwyrm/signatures.py
index 0aa749182..7e3c637ff 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/signatures.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/signatures.py
@@ -44,8 +44,7 @@ def make_signature(sender, destination, date, digest):
 
 def make_digest(data):
     ''' creates a message digest for signing '''
-    return 'SHA-256=' + b64encode(hashlib.sha256(data.encode('utf-8'))\
-            .digest()).decode('utf-8')
+    return 'SHA-256=' + b64encode(hashlib.sha256(data).digest()).decode('utf-8')
 
 
 def verify_digest(request):