NBC News falsely claimed in a Monday article that a conservative outlet first funded the anti-Trump dossier compiled by former British agent Christopher Steele.

“The dossier, compiled by research firm Fusion GPS, was funded first by a conservative outlet seeking potentially damaging information on Trump when he was a candidate,” reporter Dartunorro Clark wrote.

Clark linked to a Washington Post timeline about the dossier that actually refuted his own claim that it was funded by conservatives.

The timeline shows that The Washington Free Beacon paid Fusion GPS for opposition research on Trump in 2015. In spring 2016, the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee took over payment for the opposition research. Fusion GPS did not contract with Steele to compile the dossier until after the Free Beacon ceased payment.

“None of the work product that the Free Beacon received appears in the Steele dossier,” Free Beacon editor in chief Matthew Continetti and chairman Michael Goldfarb said about their involvement with Fusion GPS.

The idea that conservatives or Republicans first funded the dossier is an oft-repeated claim in media circles that has been repeatedly debunked. (RELATED: Media Still Pinning Dossier On Republicans)

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