diff --git a/configure.py b/configure.py
index 71943cae2c5853..9d9f0aec0b802f 100755
--- a/configure.py
+++ b/configure.py
@@ -1348,7 +1348,7 @@ def write_config(data, name):
     # ICU from pkg-config.
     o['variables']['v8_enable_i18n_support'] = 1
     pkgicu = pkg_config('icu-i18n')
-    if pkgicu[0] is None:
+    if not pkgicu[0]:
       error('''Could not load pkg-config data for "icu-i18n".
        See above errors or the README.md.''')
     (libs, cflags, libpath, icuversion) = pkgicu