diff --git a/app/lib/feed_manager.rb b/app/lib/feed_manager.rb
index e12a5c016..a99606e1b 100644
--- a/app/lib/feed_manager.rb
+++ b/app/lib/feed_manager.rb
@@ -174,19 +174,19 @@ class FeedManager
     text_matcher = Glitch::KeywordMute.text_matcher_for(receiver_id)
     tag_matcher  = Glitch::KeywordMute.tag_matcher_for(receiver_id)
 
-    should_filter   = text_matcher =~ status.text
-    should_filter ||= text_matcher =~ status.spoiler_text
-    should_filter ||= tag_matcher =~ status.tags
+    should_filter   = text_matcher.matches?(status.text)
+    should_filter ||= text_matcher.matches?(status.spoiler_text)
+    should_filter ||= tag_matcher.matches?(status.tags)
 
     if status.reblog?
       reblog = status.reblog
 
-      should_filter ||= text_matcher =~ reblog.text
-      should_filter ||= text_matcher =~ reblog.spoiler_text
-      should_filter ||= tag_matcher =~ status.tags
+      should_filter ||= text_matcher.matches?(reblog.text)
+      should_filter ||= text_matcher.matches?(reblog.spoiler_text)
+      should_filter ||= tag_matcher.matches?(status.tags)
     end
 
-    !!should_filter
+    should_filter
   end
 
   def filter_from_mentions?(status, receiver_id)
diff --git a/app/models/glitch/keyword_mute.rb b/app/models/glitch/keyword_mute.rb
index 001be9201..a2481308f 100644
--- a/app/models/glitch/keyword_mute.rb
+++ b/app/models/glitch/keyword_mute.rb
@@ -62,8 +62,8 @@ class Glitch::KeywordMute < ApplicationRecord
       format('keyword_mutes:regex:text:%s', account_id)
     end
 
-    def =~(str)
-      regex =~ str
+    def matches?(str)
+      !!(regex =~ str)
     end
 
     private
@@ -82,8 +82,8 @@ class Glitch::KeywordMute < ApplicationRecord
       format('keyword_mutes:regex:tag:%s', account_id)
     end
 
-    def =~(tags)
-      tags.pluck(:name).detect { |n| regex =~ n }
+    def matches?(tags)
+      tags.pluck(:name).any? { |n| regex =~ n }
     end
 
     private
diff --git a/spec/models/glitch/keyword_mute_spec.rb b/spec/models/glitch/keyword_mute_spec.rb
index e14af0e6a..bab276c26 100644
--- a/spec/models/glitch/keyword_mute_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/glitch/keyword_mute_spec.rb
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ RSpec.describe Glitch::KeywordMute, type: :model do
       end
 
       it 'does not match' do
-        expect(matcher =~ 'This is a hot take').to be_falsy
+        expect(matcher.matches?('This is a hot take')).to be_falsy
       end
     end
 
@@ -21,75 +21,75 @@ RSpec.describe Glitch::KeywordMute, type: :model do
       it 'does not match keywords set by a different account' do
         Glitch::KeywordMute.create!(account: bob, keyword: 'take')
 
-        expect(matcher =~ 'This is a hot take').to be_falsy
+        expect(matcher.matches?('This is a hot take')).to be_falsy
       end
 
       it 'does not match if no keywords match the status text' do
         Glitch::KeywordMute.create!(account: alice, keyword: 'cold')
 
-        expect(matcher =~ 'This is a hot take').to be_falsy
+        expect(matcher.matches?('This is a hot take')).to be_falsy
       end
 
       it 'considers word boundaries when matching' do
         Glitch::KeywordMute.create!(account: alice, keyword: 'bob', whole_word: true)
 
-        expect(matcher =~ 'bobcats').to be_falsy
+        expect(matcher.matches?('bobcats')).to be_falsy
       end
 
       it 'matches substrings if whole_word is false' do
         Glitch::KeywordMute.create!(account: alice, keyword: 'take', whole_word: false)
 
-        expect(matcher =~ 'This is a shiitake mushroom').to be_truthy
+        expect(matcher.matches?('This is a shiitake mushroom')).to be_truthy
       end
 
       it 'matches keywords at the beginning of the text' do
         Glitch::KeywordMute.create!(account: alice, keyword: 'take')
 
-        expect(matcher =~ 'Take this').to be_truthy
+        expect(matcher.matches?('Take this')).to be_truthy
       end
 
       it 'matches keywords at the end of the text' do
         Glitch::KeywordMute.create!(account: alice, keyword: 'take')
 
-        expect(matcher =~ 'This is a hot take').to be_truthy
+        expect(matcher.matches?('This is a hot take')).to be_truthy
       end
 
       it 'matches if at least one keyword case-insensitively matches the text' do
         Glitch::KeywordMute.create!(account: alice, keyword: 'hot')
 
-        expect(matcher =~ 'This is a HOT take').to be_truthy
+        expect(matcher.matches?('This is a HOT take')).to be_truthy
       end
 
       it 'maintains case-insensitivity when combining keywords into a single matcher' do
         Glitch::KeywordMute.create!(account: alice, keyword: 'hot')
         Glitch::KeywordMute.create!(account: alice, keyword: 'cold')
 
-        expect(matcher =~ 'This is a HOT take').to be_truthy
+        expect(matcher.matches?('This is a HOT take')).to be_truthy
       end
 
       it 'matches keywords surrounded by non-alphanumeric ornamentation' do
         Glitch::KeywordMute.create!(account: alice, keyword: 'hot')
 
-        expect(matcher =~ '(hot take)').to be_truthy
+        expect(matcher.matches?('(hot take)')).to be_truthy
       end
 
       it 'escapes metacharacters in keywords' do
         Glitch::KeywordMute.create!(account: alice, keyword: '(hot take)')
 
-        expect(matcher =~ '(hot take)').to be_truthy
+        expect(matcher.matches?('(hot take)')).to be_truthy
       end
 
       it 'uses case-folding rules appropriate for more than just English' do
         Glitch::KeywordMute.create!(account: alice, keyword: 'großeltern')
 
-        expect(matcher =~ 'besuch der grosseltern').to be_truthy
+        expect(matcher.matches?('besuch der grosseltern')).to be_truthy
       end
 
       it 'matches keywords that are composed of multiple words' do
         Glitch::KeywordMute.create!(account: alice, keyword: 'a shiitake')
 
-        expect(matcher =~ 'This is a shiitake').to be_truthy
-        expect(matcher =~ 'This is shiitake').to_not be_truthy
+        expect(matcher.matches?('This is a shiitake')).to be_truthy
+        expect(matcher.matches?('This is shiitake')).to_not be_truthy
       end
     end
   end