diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/cloud/amazon/ec2_ami_find.py b/lib/ansible/modules/cloud/amazon/ec2_ami_find.py
index c6b986bdd80..f7a529c7071 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/cloud/amazon/ec2_ami_find.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/cloud/amazon/ec2_ami_find.py
@@ -357,7 +357,7 @@ def main():
     if hypervisor:
         filter['hypervisor'] = hypervisor
     if is_public:
-        filter['is_public'] = is_public
+        filter['is_public'] = 'true'
     if name:
         filter['name'] = name
     if platform: