Have not purchased 2024 (and no plans to having seen what they have both done and not done with it). But that aside, your statement/question got me thinking.
I have had 2 FS2020 content folders for quite a while now. I remember IslandSimPilot commenting on it in one of his vids. That was the first time I noticed it. Never really thought too much about it because it did not seem to affect 2020 in any way.
Strangely, on the 19th one of them disappeared and I now only have one (again). I also noticed that FG was disabled in the sim (2020). Turned out HAGS had been disabled in Windows, I never touched it. Seems to me that there was some sort of intermingling with 2020 during the dev. of 2024.
If there is/was there would naturally be a possibility of data corruption or duplication in one, the other or both versions.
Not a conspiracy, just fact and opinion based on observation.