diff --git a/lib/ansible/cli/doc.py b/lib/ansible/cli/doc.py
index 386f849014..df5cd33021 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/cli/doc.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/cli/doc.py
@@ -274,7 +274,7 @@ class DocCLI(CLI):
         except Exception as e:
             display.vvv(traceback.format_exc())
             raise AnsibleError(
-                "%s %s missing documentation (or could not parse documentation): %s\n" % (plugin_type, plugin, str(e)))
+                "%s %s missing documentation (or could not parse documentation): %s\n" % (plugin_type, plugin, to_native(e)))
 
     def find_plugins(self, path, ptype):
 
diff --git a/lib/ansible/cli/galaxy.py b/lib/ansible/cli/galaxy.py
index afe912b2d8..a3ae8ee4bc 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/cli/galaxy.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/cli/galaxy.py
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ from ansible.galaxy.api import GalaxyAPI
 from ansible.galaxy.login import GalaxyLogin
 from ansible.galaxy.role import GalaxyRole
 from ansible.galaxy.token import GalaxyToken
-from ansible.module_utils._text import to_text
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_native, to_text
 from ansible.playbook.role.requirement import RoleRequirement
 
 try:
@@ -361,7 +361,7 @@ class GalaxyCLI(CLI):
                     raise AnsibleError("Invalid role requirements file")
                 f.close()
             except (IOError, OSError) as e:
-                raise AnsibleError('Unable to open %s: %s' % (role_file, str(e)))
+                raise AnsibleError('Unable to open %s: %s' % (role_file, to_native(e)))
         else:
             # roles were specified directly, so we'll just go out grab them
             # (and their dependencies, unless the user doesn't want us to).
@@ -397,7 +397,7 @@ class GalaxyCLI(CLI):
             try:
                 installed = role.install()
             except AnsibleError as e:
-                display.warning("- %s was NOT installed successfully: %s " % (role.name, str(e)))
+                display.warning(u"- %s was NOT installed successfully: %s " % (role.name, to_text(e)))
                 self.exit_without_ignore()
                 continue
 
@@ -451,7 +451,7 @@ class GalaxyCLI(CLI):
                 else:
                     display.display('- %s is not installed, skipping.' % role_name)
             except Exception as e:
-                raise AnsibleError("Failed to remove role %s: %s" % (role_name, str(e)))
+                raise AnsibleError("Failed to remove role %s: %s" % (role_name, to_native(e)))
 
         return 0
 
diff --git a/lib/ansible/galaxy/api.py b/lib/ansible/galaxy/api.py
index 78c8d1c736..18bd031093 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/galaxy/api.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/galaxy/api.py
@@ -238,7 +238,7 @@ class GalaxyAPI(object):
                 done = (data.get('next_link', None) is None)
             return results
         except Exception as error:
-            raise AnsibleError("Failed to download the %s list: %s" % (what, str(error)))
+            raise AnsibleError("Failed to download the %s list: %s" % (what, to_native(error)))
 
     @g_connect
     def search_roles(self, search, **kwargs):
diff --git a/lib/ansible/galaxy/role.py b/lib/ansible/galaxy/role.py
index a469160930..163df5cb21 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/galaxy/role.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/galaxy/role.py
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ from distutils.version import LooseVersion
 from shutil import rmtree
 
 from ansible.errors import AnsibleError
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_native, to_text
 from ansible.module_utils.urls import open_url
 from ansible.playbook.role.requirement import RoleRequirement
 from ansible.galaxy.api import GalaxyAPI
@@ -189,7 +190,7 @@ class GalaxyRole(object):
                 temp_file.close()
                 return temp_file.name
             except Exception as e:
-                display.error("failed to download the file: %s" % str(e))
+                display.error(u"failed to download the file: %s" % to_text(e))
 
         return False
 
@@ -333,7 +334,7 @@ class GalaxyRole(object):
                                 self.path = self.paths[current + 1]
                                 error = False
                         if error:
-                            raise AnsibleError("Could not update files in %s: %s" % (self.path, str(e)))
+                            raise AnsibleError("Could not update files in %s: %s" % (self.path, to_native(e)))
 
                 # return the parsed yaml metadata
                 display.display("- %s was installed successfully" % str(self))
@@ -341,7 +342,7 @@ class GalaxyRole(object):
                     try:
                         os.unlink(tmp_file)
                     except (OSError, IOError) as e:
-                        display.warning("Unable to remove tmp file (%s): %s" % (tmp_file, str(e)))
+                        display.warning(u"Unable to remove tmp file (%s): %s" % (tmp_file, to_text(e)))
                 return True
 
         return False
diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/source_control/git.py b/lib/ansible/modules/source_control/git.py
index 9199539abd..1f663bba6f 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/source_control/git.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/source_control/git.py
@@ -268,7 +268,7 @@ from distutils.version import LooseVersion
 
 from ansible.module_utils.basic import AnsibleModule, get_module_path
 from ansible.module_utils.six import b, string_types
-from ansible.module_utils._text import to_native
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_native, to_text
 
 
 def relocate_repo(module, result, repo_dir, old_repo_dir, worktree_dir):
@@ -286,7 +286,7 @@ def relocate_repo(module, result, repo_dir, old_repo_dir, worktree_dir):
             # if we already moved the .git dir, roll it back
             if os.path.exists(repo_dir):
                 shutil.move(repo_dir, old_repo_dir)
-            module.fail_json(msg='Unable to move git dir. %s' % str(err))
+            module.fail_json(msg=u'Unable to move git dir. %s' % to_text(err))
 
 
 def head_splitter(headfile, remote, module=None, fail_on_error=False):
@@ -690,7 +690,7 @@ def get_head_branch(git_path, module, dest, remote, bare=False):
         module.fail_json(
             msg='Current repo does not have a valid reference to a '
             'separate Git dir or it refers to the invalid path',
-            details=str(err),
+            details=to_text(err),
         )
     # Read .git/HEAD for the name of the branch.
     # If we're in a detached HEAD state, look up the branch associated with
@@ -992,8 +992,8 @@ def create_archive(git_path, module, dest, archive, version, repo, result):
             except OSError as e:
                 module.fail_json(msg="Failed to move %s to %s" %
                                      (new_archive, archive),
-                                 details="Error occured while moving : %s"
-                                         % to_native(e))
+                                 details=u"Error occured while moving : %s"
+                                         % to_text(e))
     else:
         # Perform archive from local directory
         git_archive(git_path, module, dest, archive, archive_fmt, version)
@@ -1100,7 +1100,7 @@ def main():
             module.fail_json(
                 msg='Current repo does not have a valid reference to a '
                 'separate Git dir or it refers to the invalid path',
-                details=str(err),
+                details=to_text(err),
             )
         gitconfig = os.path.join(repo_path, 'config')
 
diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/system/seboolean.py b/lib/ansible/modules/system/seboolean.py
index b92b48b761..fff4238aa3 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/system/seboolean.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/system/seboolean.py
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ except ImportError:
 
 from ansible.module_utils.basic import AnsibleModule
 from ansible.module_utils.six import binary_type
-from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes, to_text
 
 
 def has_boolean_value(module, name):
@@ -238,7 +238,7 @@ def semanage_boolean_value(module, name, state):
                 semanage_commit(module, handle)
         semanage_destroy_handle(module, handle)
     except Exception as e:
-        module.fail_json(msg="Failed to manage policy for boolean %s: %s" % (name, str(e)))
+        module.fail_json(msg=u"Failed to manage policy for boolean %s: %s" % (name, to_text(e)))
     return changed
 
 
diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/system/sysctl.py b/lib/ansible/modules/system/sysctl.py
index 8664dda199..116c4c6a5d 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/system/sysctl.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/system/sysctl.py
@@ -282,7 +282,7 @@ class SysctlModule(object):
             rc, out, err = self.module.run_command(sysctl_args)
 
         if rc != 0:
-            self.module.fail_json(msg="Failed to reload sysctl: %s" % str(out) + str(err))
+            self.module.fail_json(msg="Failed to reload sysctl: %s" % to_native(out) + to_native(err))
 
     # ==============================================================
     #   SYSCTL FILE MANAGEMENT
@@ -297,7 +297,7 @@ class SysctlModule(object):
                 with open(self.sysctl_file, "r") as read_file:
                     lines = read_file.readlines()
             except IOError as e:
-                self.module.fail_json(msg="Failed to open %s: %s" % (self.sysctl_file, to_native(e)))
+                self.module.fail_json(msg="Failed to open %s: %s" % (to_native(self.sysctl_file), to_native(e)))
 
         for line in lines:
             line = line.strip()
diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/utilities/logic/async_wrapper.py b/lib/ansible/modules/utilities/logic/async_wrapper.py
index c1e331bc5f..86ed1656b2 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/utilities/logic/async_wrapper.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/utilities/logic/async_wrapper.py
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ import signal
 import time
 import syslog
 
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_text
+
 PY3 = sys.version_info[0] == 3
 
 syslog.openlog('ansible-%s' % os.path.basename(__file__))
@@ -164,7 +166,7 @@ def _run_module(wrapped_cmd, jid, job_path):
         result = {
             "failed": 1,
             "cmd": wrapped_cmd,
-            "msg": str(e),
+            "msg": to_text(e),
             "outdata": outdata,  # temporary notice only
             "stderr": stderr
         }
diff --git a/lib/ansible/parsing/vault/__init__.py b/lib/ansible/parsing/vault/__init__.py
index 2ac1291dfa..851f509c64 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/parsing/vault/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/parsing/vault/__init__.py
@@ -1033,7 +1033,7 @@ class VaultEditor:
                 with open(filename, "rb") as fh:
                     data = fh.read()
         except Exception as e:
-            raise AnsibleError(str(e))
+            raise AnsibleError(to_native(e))
 
         return data
 
diff --git a/lib/ansible/playbook/role/metadata.py b/lib/ansible/playbook/role/metadata.py
index f4898503aa..b50387329c 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/playbook/role/metadata.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/playbook/role/metadata.py
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ __metaclass__ = type
 import os
 
 from ansible.errors import AnsibleParserError, AnsibleError
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_native
 from ansible.module_utils.six import iteritems, string_types
 from ansible.playbook.attribute import Attribute, FieldAttribute
 from ansible.playbook.base import Base
@@ -80,7 +81,7 @@ class RoleMetadata(Base):
                         role_def['name'] = def_parsed['name']
                     roles.append(role_def)
                 except AnsibleError as exc:
-                    raise AnsibleParserError(str(exc), obj=role_def, orig_exc=exc)
+                    raise AnsibleParserError(to_native(exc), obj=role_def, orig_exc=exc)
 
         current_role_path = None
         if self._owner:
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/__init__.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/__init__.py
index b57ef7e17b..ada3b6ba9f 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/__init__.py
@@ -1057,7 +1057,7 @@ class ActionBase(with_metaclass(ABCMeta, object)):
                         with open(source, 'rb') as src:
                             src_contents = src.read()
                     except Exception as e:
-                        raise AnsibleError("Unexpected error while reading source (%s) for diff: %s " % (source, str(e)))
+                        raise AnsibleError("Unexpected error while reading source (%s) for diff: %s " % (source, to_native(e)))
 
                     if b"\x00" in src_contents:
                         diff['src_binary'] = 1
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/exos_config.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/exos_config.py
index 8225a73756..6d955dffc3 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/exos_config.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/exos_config.py
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ class ActionModule(_ActionModule):
             try:
                 self._handle_template()
             except ValueError as exc:
-                return dict(failed=True, msg=str(exc))
+                return dict(failed=True, msg=to_text(exc))
 
         result = super(ActionModule, self).run(tmp, task_vars)
         del tmp  # tmp no longer has any effect
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/wait_for_connection.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/wait_for_connection.py
index 0e860a86d7..93643c7756 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/wait_for_connection.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/wait_for_connection.py
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ __metaclass__ = type
 import time
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta
 
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_text
 from ansible.plugins.action import ActionBase
 
 try:
@@ -112,7 +113,7 @@ class ActionModule(ActionBase):
 
         except TimedOutException as e:
             result['failed'] = True
-            result['msg'] = str(e)
+            result['msg'] = to_text(e)
 
         elapsed = datetime.now() - start
         result['elapsed'] = elapsed.seconds
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/callback/foreman.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/callback/foreman.py
index 2e4e12e1ed..3d02dc9e0c 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/callback/foreman.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/callback/foreman.py
@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ try:
 except ImportError:
     HAS_REQUESTS = False
 
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_text
 from ansible.plugins.callback import CallbackBase
 
 
@@ -152,7 +153,7 @@ class CallbackModule(CallbackBase):
                               verify=self.ssl_verify)
             r.raise_for_status()
         except requests.exceptions.RequestException as err:
-            print(str(err))
+            print(to_text(err))
 
     def _build_log(self, data):
         logs = []
@@ -214,7 +215,7 @@ class CallbackModule(CallbackBase):
                                   verify=self.ssl_verify)
                 r.raise_for_status()
             except requests.exceptions.RequestException as err:
-                print(str(err))
+                print(to_text(err))
             self.items[host] = []
 
     def append_result(self, result):
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/callback/grafana_annotations.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/callback/grafana_annotations.py
index 712aed5be3..9d5ac51e08 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/callback/grafana_annotations.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/callback/grafana_annotations.py
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import getpass
 from base64 import b64encode
 from datetime import datetime
 
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_text
 from ansible.module_utils.urls import open_url
 from ansible.plugins.callback import CallbackBase
 
@@ -259,4 +260,4 @@ class CallbackModule(CallbackBase):
                                 url_username=self.grafana_user, url_password=self.grafana_password,
                                 http_agent=self.http_agent, force_basic_auth=self.force_basic_auth)
         except Exception as e:
-            self._display.error('Could not submit message to Grafana: %s' % str(e))
+            self._display.error(u'Could not submit message to Grafana: %s' % to_text(e))
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/callback/logentries.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/callback/logentries.py
index 364715a5c7..e287fd70b0 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/callback/logentries.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/callback/logentries.py
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ try:
 except ImportError:
     HAS_FLATDICT = False
 
-from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes, to_text, to_native
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes, to_text
 from ansible.plugins.callback import CallbackBase
 
 # Todo:
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ class PlainTextSocketAppender(object):
                 self.open_connection()
                 return
             except Exception as e:
-                self._display.vvvv("Unable to connect to Logentries: %s" % str(e))
+                self._display.vvvv(u"Unable to connect to Logentries: %s" % to_text(e))
 
             root_delay *= 2
             if root_delay > self.MAX_DELAY:
@@ -247,7 +247,7 @@ class CallbackModule(CallbackBase):
             self.use_tls = self.get_option('use_tls')
             self.flatten = self.get_option('flatten')
         except KeyError as e:
-            self._display.warning("Missing option for Logentries callback plugin: %s" % to_native(e))
+            self._display.warning(u"Missing option for Logentries callback plugin: %s" % to_text(e))
             self.disabled = True
 
         try:
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/callback/slack.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/callback/slack.py
index f53c68f412..a8717b25a9 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/callback/slack.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/callback/slack.py
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ try:
 except ImportError:
     cli = None
 
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_text
 from ansible.module_utils.urls import open_url
 from ansible.plugins.callback import CallbackBase
 
@@ -124,8 +125,8 @@ class CallbackModule(CallbackBase):
             response = open_url(self.webhook_url, data=data)
             return response.read()
         except Exception as e:
-            self._display.warning('Could not submit message to Slack: %s' %
-                                  str(e))
+            self._display.warning(u'Could not submit message to Slack: %s' %
+                                  to_text(e))
 
     def v2_playbook_on_start(self, playbook):
         self.playbook_name = os.path.basename(playbook._file_name)
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/callback/tree.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/callback/tree.py
index 7c2a93779e..f86a3cf5ed 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/callback/tree.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/callback/tree.py
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ DOCUMENTATION = '''
 import os
 
 from ansible.constants import TREE_DIR
-from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes, to_text
 from ansible.plugins.callback import CallbackBase
 from ansible.utils.path import makedirs_safe
 
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ class CallbackModule(CallbackBase):
             with open(path, 'wb+') as fd:
                 fd.write(buf)
         except (OSError, IOError) as e:
-            self._display.warning("Unable to write to %s's file: %s" % (hostname, str(e)))
+            self._display.warning(u"Unable to write to %s's file: %s" % (hostname, to_text(e)))
 
     def result_to_tree(self, result):
         if self.tree:
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/netconf.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/netconf.py
index 096d9659bc..1466db905c 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/netconf.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/netconf.py
@@ -296,7 +296,7 @@ class Connection(NetworkConnectionBase):
                 ssh_config=ssh_config
             )
         except SSHUnknownHostError as exc:
-            raise AnsibleConnectionFailure(str(exc))
+            raise AnsibleConnectionFailure(to_native(exc))
         except ImportError as exc:
             raise AnsibleError("connection=netconf is not supported on {0}".format(self._network_os))
 
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/paramiko_ssh.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/paramiko_ssh.py
index 2019155d72..c12b6f1025 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/paramiko_ssh.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/paramiko_ssh.py
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ from ansible.module_utils.six import iteritems
 from ansible.module_utils.six.moves import input
 from ansible.plugins.connection import ConnectionBase
 from ansible.utils.path import makedirs_safe
-from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes, to_native
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes, to_native, to_text
 
 try:
     from __main__ import display
@@ -354,10 +354,10 @@ class Connection(ConnectionBase):
         except paramiko.ssh_exception.BadHostKeyException as e:
             raise AnsibleConnectionFailure('host key mismatch for %s' % e.hostname)
         except Exception as e:
-            msg = str(e)
-            if "PID check failed" in msg:
+            msg = to_text(e)
+            if u"PID check failed" in msg:
                 raise AnsibleError("paramiko version issue, please upgrade paramiko on the machine running ansible")
-            elif "Private key file is encrypted" in msg:
+            elif u"Private key file is encrypted" in msg:
                 msg = 'ssh %s@%s:%s : %s\nTo connect as a different user, use -u <username>.' % (
                     self._play_context.remote_user, self._play_context.remote_addr, port, msg)
                 raise AnsibleConnectionFailure(msg)
@@ -380,10 +380,11 @@ class Connection(ConnectionBase):
             self.ssh.get_transport().set_keepalive(5)
             chan = self.ssh.get_transport().open_session()
         except Exception as e:
-            msg = "Failed to open session"
-            if len(str(e)) > 0:
-                msg += ": %s" % str(e)
-            raise AnsibleConnectionFailure(msg)
+            text_e = to_text(e)
+            msg = u"Failed to open session"
+            if text_e:
+                msg += u": %s" % text_e
+            raise AnsibleConnectionFailure(to_native(msg))
 
         # sudo usually requires a PTY (cf. requiretty option), therefore
         # we give it one by default (pty=True in ansible.cfg), and we try
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/filter/core.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/filter/core.py
index eab0022888..d2ad516e25 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/filter/core.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/filter/core.py
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ from jinja2.filters import environmentfilter, do_groupby as _do_groupby
 from ansible.errors import AnsibleError, AnsibleFilterError
 from ansible.module_utils.six import iteritems, string_types, integer_types, reraise
 from ansible.module_utils.six.moves import reduce, shlex_quote
-from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes, to_text
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes, to_native, to_text
 from ansible.module_utils.common.collections import is_sequence
 from ansible.module_utils.common._collections_compat import MutableMapping
 from ansible.parsing.ajson import AnsibleJSONEncoder
@@ -261,7 +261,7 @@ def get_encrypted_password(password, hashtype='sha512', salt=None, salt_size=Non
     try:
         return passlib_or_crypt(password, hashtype, salt=salt, salt_size=salt_size, rounds=rounds)
     except AnsibleError as e:
-        reraise(AnsibleFilterError, AnsibleFilterError(str(e), orig_exc=e), sys.exc_info()[2])
+        reraise(AnsibleFilterError, AnsibleFilterError(to_native(e), orig_exc=e), sys.exc_info()[2])
 
 
 def to_uuid(string):
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/filter/mathstuff.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/filter/mathstuff.py
index efc5392d8b..b368403d38 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/filter/mathstuff.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/filter/mathstuff.py
@@ -139,14 +139,14 @@ def logarithm(x, base=math.e):
         else:
             return math.log(x, base)
     except TypeError as e:
-        raise AnsibleFilterError('log() can only be used on numbers: %s' % str(e))
+        raise AnsibleFilterError('log() can only be used on numbers: %s' % to_native(e))
 
 
 def power(x, y):
     try:
         return math.pow(x, y)
     except TypeError as e:
-        raise AnsibleFilterError('pow() can only be used on numbers: %s' % str(e))
+        raise AnsibleFilterError('pow() can only be used on numbers: %s' % to_native(e))
 
 
 def inversepower(x, base=2):
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ def inversepower(x, base=2):
         else:
             return math.pow(x, 1.0 / float(base))
     except (ValueError, TypeError) as e:
-        raise AnsibleFilterError('root() can only be used on numbers: %s' % str(e))
+        raise AnsibleFilterError('root() can only be used on numbers: %s' % to_native(e))
 
 
 def human_readable(size, isbits=False, unit=None):
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/filter/network.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/filter/network.py
index 14d3920cc0..92d0230777 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/filter/network.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/filter/network.py
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ import string
 
 from xml.etree.ElementTree import fromstring
 
-from ansible.module_utils._text import to_text
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_native, to_text
 from ansible.module_utils.network.common.utils import Template
 from ansible.module_utils.six import iteritems, string_types
 from ansible.module_utils.common._collections_compat import Mapping
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ def parse_cli(output, tmpl):
     try:
         template = Template()
     except ImportError as exc:
-        raise AnsibleError(str(exc))
+        raise AnsibleError(to_native(exc))
 
     spec = yaml.safe_load(open(tmpl).read())
     obj = {}
@@ -241,7 +241,7 @@ def parse_cli_textfsm(value, template):
     try:
         template = open(template)
     except IOError as exc:
-        raise AnsibleError(str(exc))
+        raise AnsibleError(to_native(exc))
 
     re_table = textfsm.TextFSM(template)
     fsm_results = re_table.ParseText(value)
@@ -333,7 +333,7 @@ def parse_xml(output, tmpl):
     try:
         template = Template()
     except ImportError as exc:
-        raise AnsibleError(str(exc))
+        raise AnsibleError(to_native(exc))
 
     spec = yaml.safe_load(open(tmpl).read())
     obj = {}
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/grafana_dashboard.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/grafana_dashboard.py
index 2c9729bbc4..fd7985bf67 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/grafana_dashboard.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/grafana_dashboard.py
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ import os
 from ansible.errors import AnsibleError, AnsibleParserError
 from ansible.plugins.lookup import LookupBase
 from ansible.module_utils.urls import open_url
-from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes, to_native
 from ansible.module_utils.six.moves.urllib.error import HTTPError
 
 try:
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ class GrafanaAPI:
         try:
             r = open_url('%s/api/user/using/%s' % (self.grafana_url, self.grafana_org_id), headers=headers, method='POST')
         except HTTPError as e:
-            raise GrafanaAPIException('Unable to switch to organization %s : %s' % (self.grafana_org_id, str(e)))
+            raise GrafanaAPIException('Unable to switch to organization %s : %s' % (self.grafana_org_id, to_native(e)))
         if r.getcode() != 200:
             raise GrafanaAPIException('Unable to switch to organization %s : %s' % (self.grafana_org_id, str(r.getcode())))
 
@@ -144,12 +144,12 @@ class GrafanaAPI:
             else:
                 r = open_url('%s/api/search/' % self.grafana_url, headers=headers, method='GET')
         except HTTPError as e:
-            raise GrafanaAPIException('Unable to search dashboards : %s' % str(e))
+            raise GrafanaAPIException('Unable to search dashboards : %s' % to_native(e))
         if r.getcode() == 200:
             try:
                 dashboard_list = json.loads(r.read())
             except Exception as e:
-                raise GrafanaAPIException('Unable to parse json list %s' % str(e))
+                raise GrafanaAPIException('Unable to parse json list %s' % to_native(e))
         else:
             raise GrafanaAPIException('Unable to list grafana dashboards : %s' % str(r.getcode()))
 
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/netconf/ce.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/netconf/ce.py
index 4d09b17de6..7c92395e0e 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/netconf/ce.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/netconf/ce.py
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ import json
 import re
 
 from ansible import constants as C
-from ansible.module_utils._text import to_text, to_bytes
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_text, to_bytes, to_native
 from ansible.errors import AnsibleConnectionFailure, AnsibleError
 from ansible.plugins.netconf import NetconfBase
 from ansible.plugins.netconf import ensure_connected
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ class Netconf(NetconfBase):
                 timeout=obj._play_context.timeout
             )
         except SSHUnknownHostError as exc:
-            raise AnsibleConnectionFailure(str(exc))
+            raise AnsibleConnectionFailure(to_native(exc))
 
         guessed_os = None
         for c in m.server_capabilities:
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/netconf/iosxr.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/netconf/iosxr.py
index a8a0e1b76c..bc1b1b5280 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/netconf/iosxr.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/netconf/iosxr.py
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import re
 import collections
 
 from ansible import constants as C
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_native
 from ansible.module_utils.network.common.netconf import remove_namespaces
 from ansible.module_utils.network.iosxr.iosxr import build_xml, etree_find
 from ansible.errors import AnsibleConnectionFailure, AnsibleError
@@ -111,7 +112,7 @@ class Netconf(NetconfBase):
                 timeout=obj._play_context.timeout
             )
         except SSHUnknownHostError as exc:
-            raise AnsibleConnectionFailure(str(exc))
+            raise AnsibleConnectionFailure(to_native(exc))
 
         guessed_os = None
         for c in m.server_capabilities:
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/netconf/junos.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/netconf/junos.py
index fa5cf65e17..f0b2a266d6 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/netconf/junos.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/netconf/junos.py
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ import json
 import re
 
 from ansible import constants as C
-from ansible.module_utils._text import to_text, to_bytes
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_text, to_bytes, to_native
 from ansible.errors import AnsibleConnectionFailure, AnsibleError
 from ansible.plugins.netconf import NetconfBase
 from ansible.plugins.netconf import ensure_connected
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ class Netconf(NetconfBase):
                 timeout=obj._play_context.timeout
             )
         except SSHUnknownHostError as exc:
-            raise AnsibleConnectionFailure(str(exc))
+            raise AnsibleConnectionFailure(to_native(exc))
 
         guessed_os = None
         for c in m.server_capabilities:
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/netconf/sros.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/netconf/sros.py
index b903a9ad9c..910b92e2d6 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/netconf/sros.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/netconf/sros.py
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ import json
 import re
 
 from ansible import constants as C
-from ansible.module_utils._text import to_text, to_bytes
+from ansible.module_utils._text import to_text, to_bytes, to_native
 from ansible.errors import AnsibleConnectionFailure, AnsibleError
 from ansible.plugins.netconf import NetconfBase
 from ansible.plugins.netconf import ensure_connected
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ class Netconf(NetconfBase):
                 timeout=obj._play_context.timeout
             )
         except SSHUnknownHostError as exc:
-            raise AnsibleConnectionFailure(str(exc))
+            raise AnsibleConnectionFailure(to_native(exc))
 
         guessed_os = None
         for c in m.server_capabilities:
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/strategy/__init__.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/strategy/__init__.py
index 62c15d43d4..6a5d86e69a 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/strategy/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/strategy/__init__.py
@@ -969,7 +969,7 @@ class StrategyBase:
                     for host in included_file._hosts:
                         iterator.mark_host_failed(host)
                         self._tqm._failed_hosts[host.name] = True
-                    display.warning(str(e))
+                    display.warning(to_text(e))
                     continue
 
         # remove hosts from notification list
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/strategy/free.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/strategy/free.py
index 6c999dbb8d..808843cb28 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/strategy/free.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/strategy/free.py
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ class StrategyModule(StrategyBase):
                     except AnsibleError as e:
                         for host in included_file._hosts:
                             iterator.mark_host_failed(host)
-                        display.warning(str(e))
+                        display.warning(to_text(e))
                         continue
 
                     for new_block in new_blocks: