Despite topping their group, the USMNT had lost 3-2 against Turkey in their final group-stage game. While under pressure, Team USA delivered, beating Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0. Throughout the game, several athletes and celebs were spotted watching from the stands, but when images of Caitlin Clark surfaced, not everyone was convinced.

X handle @FeverUpdate shared a couple of images allegedly from the USA vs. Bosnia game on Wednesday. In the pictures, Clark was seen wearing a cropped Nike USMNT jersey while seemingly watching the game in anticipation.

The images went viral with over 108,000 views and hundreds of reports and shares. And that’s when a section of fans claimed the images were AI-generated.

The reason behind the claims was that Clark herself didn’t post anything on social media. While her last Instagram post was on June 13, the India Fever star often posts stories, and nothing about the game appeared on her stories.

As of the time of writing, Clark’s current Instagram story is a post with teammate Lexie Hull. The only other report is a Sports Illustrated article that did a celebrity watch roundup at the Round of 32 game.

The report mentioned IShowSpeed, Gregg Berhalter, Kelley O’Hara, Alex Morgan, Jill Elliswere, and more among the notable attendees at the game. However, their source for Clark’s appearance was the same @FeverUpdate post that many fans called AI.

Fans were not convinced that the Caitlin Clark images were real

“Def looks like AI,” a fan wrote. “That’s not cc,” commented another. Besides, Caitlin Clark not posting anything about attending the game, many doubted the Fever star could actually attend the game while recovering from an injury.

“Fake. I’m sure she’s flying 3 hours while rehabbing her back,” remarked another.

CC is undergoing physical rehab for her back injury. The 24-year-old tweaked her back in the game against the Phoenix Mercury on June 24. She exited in the third quarter and didn’t return.

Fever coach Stephanie White confirmed that while Clark was ok, she would need physical therapy. White also benched her in the Fever’s last game against the LA Sparks on June 27. Then on Wednesday, ahead of a practice session, White said it’s “too early” to comment on Clark’s availability for the Las Vegas Aces game on July 5.

Interestingly, the point guard wore a different USMNT jersey-themed crop-top to that June 24 game. The official Fever handle even posted the image ahead of the game.

Maybe that’s why another fan said, “That’s not her; similar but not her.” Meanwhile, another asked, “Why does this seem AI?”

If the fan speculation is true, this wouldn’t be the first time AI was used to edit or create Clark’s likeness.

The Fever point guard spotted her own team using AI tools in a post back in May. According to Front Office Sports’ source, “the error with Clark’s hand came from using an AI tool in an attempt to combine an image of Clark with a separate image of Boston.”

CC’s hand was clearly reflective that the image wasn’t genuine, and she herself jokingly commented, “new hand aleart,” prompting the Fever to delete it.

While Caitlin Clark’s one-liner comment was a joke, it was a reminder that AI tools are being used. So it’s no wonder that not everyone was convinced about the images.