Or maybe it's a brilliant way to kill some one you don't like. Think about it, it would be hard to convince someone to stand in front of a rifle, and it would be hard to explain the death afterwards.
BUT if you told them it was a hoax with blanks, and it would be funny, then they'd go out there, and if they got shot it would be an 'accident', if they survive they have to accept it must be an accident, if they die, the video proves it's really not criminal... Nefarious!
Otherwise it would make no sense to use regulars when you could use POWs or captured pick-pockets for risky assignments.
So, even if it's a hoax, I'm not holding the plate, just in case I did something to piss them off...