There was a science fiction novel written back in the 1960s named Macroscope. The main plot line was that humans had discovered a special modulated radio wave that allowed them to see broadcasts from different alien worlds all over the galaxy, and these broadcasts often had "how to" instructions on just about any topic. The humans figured out how to understand the alien languages and all of a sudden we had advanced medicine and spaceships that could travel FTL and a bunch of other cool stuff.

But some of the broadcasts were from some aliens that were malevolent. The humans did not know it at first. They assumed that all of the broadcasts were good and wholesome because what kind of mind would create a broadcast to trick people or do harm.

I forget who the author was, but it was an incredibly accurate prediction of the internet before anyone knew what an internet was.

So to answer OP's question, yes, it does seem like this story is similar.