diff --git a/src/main/java/io/github/redouane59/twitter/helpers/AbstractRequestHelper.java b/src/main/java/io/github/redouane59/twitter/helpers/AbstractRequestHelper.java
index 2c807b2b..410904ae 100644
--- a/src/main/java/io/github/redouane59/twitter/helpers/AbstractRequestHelper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/io/github/redouane59/twitter/helpers/AbstractRequestHelper.java
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ public <T> Optional<T> makeRequest(Verb verb, String url, Map<String, String> he
       }
     }
     if (body != null && verb.isPermitBody()) {
-      request.setPayload(body);
+      request.setPayload(body.getBytes(StandardCharset.UTF_8));
       if (!request.getHeaders().containsKey("Content-Type")) {
         request.addHeader("Content-Type", "application/json");
       }