diff --git a/docs/administration/updating.md b/docs/administration/updating.md
index ef2c9218c..01d3b9b0e 100644
--- a/docs/administration/updating.md
+++ b/docs/administration/updating.md
@@ -17,11 +17,11 @@ su pleroma -s $SHELL -lc "./bin/pleroma_ctl migrate"
 ## For from source installations (using git)
 
 1. Go to the working directory of Pleroma (default is `/opt/pleroma`)
-2. Run `git pull`. This pulls the latest changes from upstream.
+2. Run `git pull` [^1]. This pulls the latest changes from upstream.
 3. Run `mix deps.get` [^1]. This pulls in any new dependencies.
 4. Stop the Pleroma service.
 5. Run `mix ecto.migrate` [^1] [^2]. This task performs database migrations, if there were any.
 6. Start the Pleroma service.
 
-[^1]: Depending on which install guide you followed (for example on Debian/Ubuntu), you want to run `mix` tasks as `pleroma` user by adding `sudo -Hu pleroma` before the command.
+[^1]: Depending on which install guide you followed (for example on Debian/Ubuntu), you want to run `git` and `mix` tasks as `pleroma` user by adding `sudo -Hu pleroma` before the command.
 [^2]: Prefix with `MIX_ENV=prod` to run it using the production config file.
diff --git a/lib/pleroma/web/activity_pub/mrf/steal_emoji_policy.ex b/lib/pleroma/web/activity_pub/mrf/steal_emoji_policy.ex
index 06305235e..f66c379b5 100644
--- a/lib/pleroma/web/activity_pub/mrf/steal_emoji_policy.ex
+++ b/lib/pleroma/web/activity_pub/mrf/steal_emoji_policy.ex
@@ -12,6 +12,14 @@ defmodule Pleroma.Web.ActivityPub.MRF.StealEmojiPolicy do
 
   defp accept_host?(host), do: host in Config.get([:mrf_steal_emoji, :hosts], [])
 
+  defp shortcode_matches?(shortcode, pattern) when is_binary(pattern) do
+    shortcode == pattern
+  end
+
+  defp shortcode_matches?(shortcode, pattern) do
+    String.match?(shortcode, pattern)
+  end
+
   defp steal_emoji({shortcode, url}, emoji_dir_path) do
     url = Pleroma.Web.MediaProxy.url(url)
 
@@ -72,7 +80,7 @@ defmodule Pleroma.Web.ActivityPub.MRF.StealEmojiPolicy do
           reject_emoji? =
             [:mrf_steal_emoji, :rejected_shortcodes]
             |> Config.get([])
-            |> Enum.find(false, fn regex -> String.match?(shortcode, regex) end)
+            |> Enum.find(false, fn pattern -> shortcode_matches?(shortcode, pattern) end)
 
           !reject_emoji?
         end)
@@ -122,8 +130,12 @@ defmodule Pleroma.Web.ActivityPub.MRF.StealEmojiPolicy do
         %{
           key: :rejected_shortcodes,
           type: {:list, :string},
-          description: "Regex-list of shortcodes to reject",
-          suggestions: [""]
+          description: """
+            A list of patterns or matches to reject shortcodes with.
+
+            Each pattern can be a string or [Regex](https://hexdocs.pm/elixir/Regex.html) in the format of `~r/PATTERN/`.
+          """,
+          suggestions: ["foo", ~r/foo/]
         },
         %{
           key: :size_limit,
diff --git a/test/pleroma/web/activity_pub/mrf/steal_emoji_policy_test.exs b/test/pleroma/web/activity_pub/mrf/steal_emoji_policy_test.exs
index c537670f2..89d32352f 100644
--- a/test/pleroma/web/activity_pub/mrf/steal_emoji_policy_test.exs
+++ b/test/pleroma/web/activity_pub/mrf/steal_emoji_policy_test.exs
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ defmodule Pleroma.Web.ActivityPub.MRF.StealEmojiPolicyTest do
            |> File.exists?()
   end
 
-  test "reject shortcode", %{message: message} do
+  test "reject regex shortcode", %{message: message} do
     refute "firedfox" in installed()
 
     clear_config(:mrf_steal_emoji,
@@ -74,6 +74,20 @@ defmodule Pleroma.Web.ActivityPub.MRF.StealEmojiPolicyTest do
     refute "firedfox" in installed()
   end
 
+  test "reject string shortcode", %{message: message} do
+    refute "firedfox" in installed()
+
+    clear_config(:mrf_steal_emoji,
+      hosts: ["example.org"],
+      size_limit: 284_468,
+      rejected_shortcodes: ["firedfox"]
+    )
+
+    assert {:ok, _message} = StealEmojiPolicy.filter(message)
+
+    refute "firedfox" in installed()
+  end
+
   test "reject if size is above the limit", %{message: message} do
     refute "firedfox" in installed()