diff --git a/swh/lister/github/models.py b/swh/lister/github/models.py
index a82c2e1..32055a7 100644
--- a/swh/lister/github/models.py
+++ b/swh/lister/github/models.py
@@ -1,19 +1,20 @@
 # Copyright (C) 2017 the Software Heritage developers
 # License: GNU General Public License version 3, or any later version
 # See top-level LICENSE file for more information
 
 from sqlalchemy import Column, Boolean, Integer
 
 from swh.lister.core.models import ModelBase
 
 
 class GitHubModel(ModelBase):
     """a GitHub repository"""
     __tablename__ = 'github_repos'
 
     uid = Column(Integer, primary_key=True)
     indexable = Column(Integer, index=True)
     fork = Column(Boolean)
 
     def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        self.fork = kwargs.pop('fork', False)
         super().__init__(*args, **kwargs)