I had a similar experience though it went in the opposite direction politically. "If the government is doing it it must be evil!"

There's certainly value in being skeptical of the government but the alternative of the right wing media sphere is filled with its own version of fear mongering and grifting and the total lack of critical thought means whenever the government says something the grifters come in to capitalize on people inclined to do the opposite regardless of whether or not it makes any sense for them to do so.

It's super partisan though. When the right is winning everything they do is good and can't have problems. When the left is winning everything they do is evil and must be fought against. Let's ignore the bipartisan nonsense that gets rammed through that usually does make our lives worse.

I always just go straight to the text of whatever bill people are arguing about and read it for myself. Then whenever someone tries to have a discussion about it, I ask if they've read it? Usually the answer is no, and I end the discussion right there.