diff --git a/app/util/topic.py b/app/util/topic.py
index 3f47bda..a5e7136 100644
--- a/app/util/topic.py
+++ b/app/util/topic.py
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ def generate_topic_description(topic: Topic, text: str) -> str:
 
 def get_or_generate_topic_description(topic: Topic, verbose=True) -> str:
     # TODO create a general approach for deciding when a description isn't needed
-    dont_auto_generate_desc = {'poverty'}
+    dont_auto_generate_desc = {'poverty', 'ants', 'cyrus'}
     description = topic.description.get('en', '')
     if topic.slug in dont_auto_generate_desc:
         # these topics are better with just their titles. any description will limit their scope unnecessarily.