diff --git a/orte/mca/ess/lsf/ess_lsf_module.c b/orte/mca/ess/lsf/ess_lsf_module.c
index 32247aeeec8..04178bbe9d0 100644
--- a/orte/mca/ess/lsf/ess_lsf_module.c
+++ b/orte/mca/ess/lsf/ess_lsf_module.c
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
  * Copyright (c) 2013-2018 Intel, Inc.  All rights reserved.
  * Copyright (c) 2016      Research Organization for Information Science
  *                         and Technology (RIST). All rights reserved.
+ * Copyright (c) 2021      IBM Corporation.  All rights reserved.
  * $COPYRIGHT$
  *
  * Additional copyrights may follow
@@ -103,7 +104,7 @@ static int rte_init(void)
     return ORTE_SUCCESS;
 
 error:
-    if (ORTE_ERR_SILENT != ret && !orte_report_silent_errors) {
+    if( ORTE_ERR_SILENT != ret || orte_report_silent_errors ) {
         orte_show_help("help-orte-runtime.txt",
                        "orte_init:startup:internal-failure",
                        true, error, ORTE_ERROR_NAME(ret), ret);
diff --git a/orte/mca/ess/pmi/ess_pmi_module.c b/orte/mca/ess/pmi/ess_pmi_module.c
index 45d75f56161..1259db2166b 100644
--- a/orte/mca/ess/pmi/ess_pmi_module.c
+++ b/orte/mca/ess/pmi/ess_pmi_module.c
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
  * Copyright (c) 2018      Mellanox Technologies, Inc.
  *                         All rights reserved.
  * Copyright (c) 2018      FUJITSU LIMITED.  All rights reserved.
+ * Copyright (c) 2021      IBM Corporation.  All rights reserved.
  * $COPYRIGHT$
  *
  * Additional copyrights may follow
@@ -618,7 +619,7 @@ static int rte_init(void)
          */
         orte_show_help_finalize();
     }
-    if (ORTE_ERR_SILENT != ret && !orte_report_silent_errors) {
+    if( ORTE_ERR_SILENT != ret || orte_report_silent_errors ) {
         orte_show_help("help-orte-runtime.txt",
                        "orte_init:startup:internal-failure",
                        true, error, ORTE_ERROR_NAME(ret), ret);
diff --git a/orte/runtime/orte_init.c b/orte/runtime/orte_init.c
index 04dec8c4180..997e91f581c 100644
--- a/orte/runtime/orte_init.c
+++ b/orte/runtime/orte_init.c
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
  * Copyright (c) 2014-2018 Intel, Inc.  All rights reserved.
  * Copyright (c) 2014-2016 Research Organization for Information Science
  *                         and Technology (RIST). All rights reserved.
- *
+ * Copyright (c) 2021      IBM Corporation.  All rights reserved.
  * $COPYRIGHT$
  *
  * Additional copyrights may follow
@@ -300,7 +300,7 @@ int orte_init(int* pargc, char*** pargv, orte_proc_type_t flags)
     return ORTE_SUCCESS;
 
  error:
-    if (ORTE_ERR_SILENT != ret) {
+    if( ORTE_ERR_SILENT != ret || orte_report_silent_errors ) {
         orte_show_help("help-orte-runtime",
                        "orte_init:startup:internal-failure",
                        true, error, ORTE_ERROR_NAME(ret), ret);