diff --git a/tasks/fedmsg_base.yml b/tasks/fedmsg_base.yml
index 39af3be2ca..5f2ae0b422 100644
--- a/tasks/fedmsg_base.yml
+++ b/tasks/fedmsg_base.yml
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@
     owner={{item['owner']}}
     group={{item['group']}}
     service={{item['service']}}
-  with_items: {{fedmsg_certs}}
+  with_items: ${fedmsg_certs}
   when: fedmsg_certs is defined
   tags:
   - config
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@
     owner={{item['owner']}}
     group={{item['group']}}
     service={{item['service']}}
-  with_items: {{fedmsg_certs}}
+  with_items: ${fedmsg_certs}
   when: fedmsg_certs is defined
   tags:
   - config