diff --git a/crates/notedeck_columns/src/ui/mention.rs b/crates/notedeck_columns/src/ui/mention.rs
index 7fc5f380..46210fbd 100644
--- a/crates/notedeck_columns/src/ui/mention.rs
+++ b/crates/notedeck_columns/src/ui/mention.rs
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ fn mention_ui(
             if let Some(name) = profile.as_ref().and_then(crate::profile::get_profile_name) {
                 format!("@{}", name.username())
             } else {
-                "??".to_string()
+                "@???".to_string()
             };
 
         let resp = ui.add(