Actress-singer Barbra Streisand has warned American voters to fact check before heading to the polls in November to elect a new US president.
Republican candidate Donald Trump had caused a stir since the very start of this election cycle by making statements that have offended immigrants, veterans, women, and other minorities, in addition to promising grandiose changes if he's elected.
But 74-year-old Streisand, who has been a vocal supporter of his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton throughout the race for the White House, is imploring fans to think for themselves and consider real hard facts before casting their vote.
"When a politician ends almost every sentence with 'believe me'... don't! He is probably lying," she wrote in an essay for the Huffington Post. The hitmaker went on to cite statistics from Pulitzer Prize-winning organisation PolitiFact, which reviews statements, promises and platforms made by US politicians, to verify the veracity of the claims. "According to PolitiFact, Donald Trump's statements are rated 'false,' 'mostly false,' and 'pants on fire' 71 per cent of the time," she added.
"In other words, the majority of the time that Trump speaks, he is not telling the truth."
Ultimately Streisand is concerned that some voters are too entertained by the property tycoon-turned-reality TV star, to realise the real-life impact that could take place if he were to become the next US leader. "Republicans play dirty and their smear tactics unfortunately work. As they say, 'If you repeat a lie long enough and loud enough, people will believe it.' And that's what's happening and it's terrifying."
"We cannot allow America to fall into the hands of a narcissist who has shown no regard for anyone but himself... a bigoted and misogynist reality-TV character with no political experience and no qualms about lying loudly and often," Streisand concluded.
