This sounds like the modern version of the story about the newspaper crossword puzzle that featured codewords used for the D-Day invasion during WWII.
There was a mini-genre of conspiracy theory themed shows after the popularity of the X-Files: "The Lone Gunmen" and "Millennium" were part of the larger X-Files universe and "Roswell" was the X-Files for teens/YA. Maybe something about the turn of the century or the rise in people who had access to the Internet that made it a ripe time for popularizing conspiracy themed entertainment.
There was a mini-genre of conspiracy theory themed shows after the popularity of the X-Files: "The Lone Gunmen" and "Millennium" were part of the larger X-Files universe and "Roswell" was the X-Files for teens/YA. Maybe something about the turn of the century or the rise in people who had access to the Internet that made it a ripe time for popularizing conspiracy themed entertainment.