 <p>Firstly, I agree with the previous answer that you should be using the strict equality operator. Secondly, you are using incorrect syntax - where you have data-bind should be ko, i.e.:</p> <pre><code>&lt;!-- ko if: header.current_collection.url_type === 'stories' --&gt; &lt;p&gt;text&lt;/p&gt; &lt;!-- /ko --&gt; </code></pre> <p>You can find the <a href="http://knockoutjs.com/documentation/if-binding.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">knockout if binding docs here</a></p>