My OH, (plus a most of his family and friends as far as I know) always bought the Daily mail - or the Daily Express if the DM wasn't available - so after we got together when I was 18, that was all I ever read, though I have to admit that at that time, I had no interest whatsoever in politics, so that side of it went over my head.
Fast-forward many years, and one particular political topic interested me a great deal, so I started researching it on the Internet and following the ins and outs of its introduction.
That's when I learnt what a load of untrue BS that paper spouted, and also discovered that those 'friends and family' who I mentioned previously believed every word of it, and regularly spouted its trite soundbites if ever the topic came up.
Their blind belief in its claims (for instance the one about the 'banning' of bent bananas,) actually played a large part in their votes for Brexit in the referendum).
Is the DM any worse than the other 'popular' newspapers in this respect?
Possibly not, but I have always felt that that it targets a socio-economic group that has a potentially bigger influence on our country's political landscape, a group whose views are taken more seriously.
That doesn't mean that I never read articles from the DM.
If a topic interests me, I will read as much as I can about it from multiple sources, to get a balanced view (so there's no need to jump on me if I ever post a link to an article from it), but would never take any of its claims at face value. It should come with a truth warning!
(And yes, I do try to do the DM cryptic crossword if OH has bought a copy of the paper. I also use its pages for my vegetable peeling ?)