diff --git a/packaging/os/apt.py b/packaging/os/apt.py
index e7d2ce4485c..ab08a06db63 100755
--- a/packaging/os/apt.py
+++ b/packaging/os/apt.py
@@ -525,7 +525,7 @@ def main():
                     p['default_release'], dpkg_options)
 
         if p['deb']:
-            if p['state'] == 'present':
+            if p['state'] != 'present':
                 module.fail_json(msg="deb only supports state=present")
             install_deb(module, p['deb'], cache,
                         install_recommends=install_recommends,