Actually, it’s only partially fixed. Using PHP 8.1 removes the extra characters on the summary version of each post, but when you click “Continue reading” the extra characters show up at the bottom. Partial solution is progress, but more R&D is needed. Thanks!
I just resolved the issue. Turns out that it was some conflict with the version of PHP I was using. I upgraded to 8.0, which seemed to generate the extra characters. As a test, downgrading to 7.4 or upgrading to 8.1 (the latest version) fixed the issue. Thanks for directing me to PHP as a solution, threadi. Much appreciated!
