King wasn't simply saying that falsehoods get exposed—he meant that lies require constant maintenance, like a patient needing life support. Truth, by contrast, sustains itself through reality's own stubborn architecture. When a company issues a false earnings report, it must construct an elaborate fiction of forged documents and coordinated deception, whereas the truth needs only to exist. This is why authoritarian regimes must work so relentlessly to suppress information: they've chosen the exhausting path, while those speaking truthfully can rest easy.