diff --git a/deluge/log.py b/deluge/log.py
index be2244c02..6f49137ef 100644
--- a/deluge/log.py
+++ b/deluge/log.py
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ def setupLogger(level="error", filename=None):
     :param filename: str, the file to log to
     """
 
-    if not level:
+    if not level or level not in levels:
         level = "error"
 
     logging.basicConfig(