diff --git a/src/network/network_chat_gui.cpp b/src/network/network_chat_gui.cpp
--- a/src/network/network_chat_gui.cpp
+++ b/src/network/network_chat_gui.cpp
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ void CDECL NetworkAddChatMessage(TextCol
 
 		/* The default colour for a message is company colour. Replace this with
 		 * white for any additional lines */
-		cmsg->colour = (bufp == buf && colour & IS_PALETTE_COLOUR) ? colour : TC_WHITE;
+		cmsg->colour = (bufp == buf && (colour & IS_PALETTE_COLOUR)) ? colour : TC_WHITE;
 		cmsg->end_date = _date + duration;
 
 		bufp += strlen(bufp) + 1; // jump to 'next line' in the formatted string