You forget one thing: outside of US, people don't put HFCS into everything like there's no tomorrow. We use sugar proper across the pond, and while it's a poison, it's not to the extent fructose is.
High fructose corn syrup is "available at various fructose levels. HFCS 42, used in beverages, processed foods, cereals and baked goods, comprises 42 % fructose and 53 % glucose. HFCS 90 comprises 90 % fructose and 10 % glucose... HFCS 55, which is used in soft drinks."
-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5983097/#:~:tex....
I think sucrose tastes better but it seems to be processed in the body the same way as corn syrup.
Btw, fruit juice or honey are also high in fructose. Most likely they are all equally bad. All stored in the liver and all build insulin resistance.
Note also that Sucrose is 50% fructose, so saying sucrose isn't processed like fructose is very unlikely.
There is lots of speculation even in the mainstream, but our best understanding now is that they are similar.