diff --git a/app/helpers/authorized_fetch_helper.rb b/app/helpers/authorized_fetch_helper.rb
index ce87526e6a..cc1b8d02c3 100644
--- a/app/helpers/authorized_fetch_helper.rb
+++ b/app/helpers/authorized_fetch_helper.rb
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 module AuthorizedFetchHelper
   def authorized_fetch_mode?
-    ENV.fetch('AUTHORIZED_FETCH') { Setting.authorized_fetch } == 'true' || Rails.configuration.x.limited_federation_mode
+    ENV.fetch('AUTHORIZED_FETCH') { Setting.authorized_fetch && 'true' } == 'true' || Rails.configuration.x.limited_federation_mode
   end
 
   def authorized_fetch_overridden?