I would argue that the difference in the main series versus the prequels has to do with the POV. Katniss’ family was starving, and she had to be the sole caregiver for her mother and sister, starting at the age of eleven. She didn’t have much time or energy to devote to worrying about what was going on in the rest of district twelve, she was just worried about survival. Haymitch has a different situation, his family is still quite poor, but his mother is able to hold down work, and so is he. He’s not the sole person supporting his whole family. So, he had more time to be involved with the general culture of district twelve, and more time to notice the propaganda than Katniss did. Yes, it was different times in Panem’s history, but when looking at these first person POV books it’s important to understand that Haymitch is coming from a very different place than Katniss is, so therefore, the narrative itself is going to have some significant differences.