🚨🛸 FROM AN ANONYMOUS RAPPER TO THE LEADER OF A CONTROVERSIAL ONLINE CULT, THE STORY BEHIND THE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF MANY FOLLOWERS IS SHOCKING PUBLIC OPINION!

In 2020, while the United States was simultaneously dealing with a world-altering pandemic and mass protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, a man named Rashad Jamal took to the internet.

Jamal, an aspiring rapper living in Atlanta, began preaching messages targeted at Black and Latino people.

His videos focused on identity and appeared to be driven by social consciousness. But as his online following grew, Jamal’s message took an outlandish turn.

Jamal eventually established the University of Cosmic Intelligence, which claims to be “geared toward enlightening and illuminating minds.”

Meanwhile, authorities have dubbed the UCI a decentralized online cult, attracting followers all over the country. And concern has risen after a group of his followers vanished without a trace in 2023.

An upcoming two-hour special, People Magazine Investigates: The University of Cosmic Intelligence Cult, will go in-depth on the alleged cult, which remains active today.

The special, which will air on Investigation Discovery and stream on HBO Max on July 14 at 9 p.m. Eastern, features interviews with law enforcement, survivors and Jamal’s ex-partner, Darshell Smith, who provides an intimate perspective about a man who began taking his message too far.

Smith, as well as several others, appear in the trailer for People Magazine Investigates: The University of Cosmic Intelligence Cult.

“He took it to another level,” says Smith about Jamal’s social media message, which began focusing on pseudoscientific conspiracy theories seemingly inspired by ancient Sumerian mythology and aliens.

PEOPLE previously reported that six of Jamal’s followers — Naaman Williams, 29, Gerielle German, 26, her 3-year-old son Ashton Mitchell, Mikayla Thompson, 23, Ma’Kayla Wickerson, 25, and her 3-year-old daughter Malaiyah — went missing from a home in Berkeley, Mo., in August 2023.

The group had moved into the St. Louis-area home together from different parts of the country and were seemingly involved in a collective spiritual journey.

Before they went missing, the adults began going by different names and cut off contact with their loved ones. After vanishing, they have not been heard from since.

As for Jamal, he was convicted of child molestation in 2023 and is currently serving a prison sentence in Georgia. He maintains his innocence.

Despite his incarceration, his social media channels have remained mostly active and the UCI’s website remains up. A spokesperson for Jamal previously told PEOPLE that he “vehemently denies” being a cult leader.

PEOPLE Magazine Investigates: The University of Cosmic Intelligence Cult will premiere Tuesday, July 14 from 9-11 p.m. Eastern time on ID and will be available to stream on HBO Max.