diff --git a/lisp/progmodes/flymake.el b/lisp/progmodes/flymake.el
index fbbfacfcfed..0b7958e52fb 100644
--- a/lisp/progmodes/flymake.el
+++ b/lisp/progmodes/flymake.el
@@ -303,7 +303,7 @@ generated it."
 (defun flymake-error (text &rest args)
   "Format TEXT with ARGS and signal an error for Flymake."
   (let ((msg (apply #'format-message text args)))
-    (flymake-log :error msg)
+    (flymake-log :error "%s" msg)
     (error (concat "[Flymake] " msg))))
 
 (cl-defstruct (flymake--diag