diff --git a/wp-includes/comment.php b/wp-includes/comment.php
index 4777b91dff..77bc6171ee 100644
--- a/wp-includes/comment.php
+++ b/wp-includes/comment.php
@@ -3427,10 +3427,10 @@ function _close_comments_for_old_post( $open, $post_id ) {
  */
 function wp_handle_comment_submission( $comment_data ) {
 	$comment_post_id      = 0;
-	$comment_author       = null;
-	$comment_author_email = null;
-	$comment_author_url   = null;
-	$comment_content      = null;
+	$comment_author       = '';
+	$comment_author_email = '';
+	$comment_author_url   = '';
+	$comment_content      = '';
 	$comment_parent       = 0;
 	$user_id              = 0;
 
diff --git a/wp-includes/version.php b/wp-includes/version.php
index 89279208ba..8975750b9d 100644
--- a/wp-includes/version.php
+++ b/wp-includes/version.php
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
  *
  * @global string $wp_version
  */
-$wp_version = '6.1-beta2-54367';
+$wp_version = '6.1-beta2-54368';
 
 /**
  * Holds the WordPress DB revision, increments when changes are made to the WordPress DB schema.